Dream On
by NellieBly413672
Summary: For a group of young college hockey players, living in the dorms of the 'U' and the road to the Olympics are the best times of their lives. This is the story of their journey to Olympic gold and the two important girls they meet along the way.
1. Hello It's Me

**AN: I can't believe how long it's been since I've last written. After writing this chapter I realized that I missed it a lot. I've had this idea in my head for a while, even when I was in the middle of writing "More Than A Feeling". I have a lot of plans for this story and I'm pretty excited about where it will go. I really hope you all like it **

**AN 2: The name of this chapter comes from a Todd Rundgren song. It'll be pretty obvious from the chapter though! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to "Miracle".**

**Chapter 1**

"So I guess this is it."

Jim Craig parked his car in front of Sanford Hall. He was with his friends Jack O'Callahan, Mike Eruzione, and Dave Silk and the four of them had just finished their road trip to Minnesota from Boston. They had been selected by Herb Brooks to join the US Olympic team through exhibition period in hopes that they would go to Lake Placid in February.

"Doesn't look like much," OC shrugged. The Boston boy at heart loved the opportunity he had but couldn't help feeling a little homesick. This training season would be the longest time he would ever spend out of Boston since he was born.

"Come on OC," Rizzo tried to keep his friend optimistic, "It's gonna be great!"

"Let's get out of the car," Silk tried, "My legs are killing me."

The guys had been driving in the car for twenty-two hours non-stop, with the exception of food and bathroom breaks, since leaving Boston. They drove in shifts, not wanting to spend the money for a hotel for the night. The trip was planned very last minute anyways. Only a few short days ago they were in Colorado Spring, Colorado, at try-outs that were expected to run a week long. Instead, after only a few hours on the ice Herb Brooks called out twenty-six names and the rest went home. On the plane back to Boston the four BU guys planned on taking this epic road trip in Jimmy's car that he did not want to leave in Boston.

The Terriers all got out of the car. Silk and OC opened up the trunk that was completely full of stuff. It was packed to the rim and many stuff had to go into the back seat or on the floor of the front.

"I'll go get the room keys from the RA," Rizzo offered, "Do you want me to get yours too?

"Yeah, thanks Riz," OC nodded.

"I'll go too," Jim said, "I need to stretch my legs."

"We'll unload the stuff," Silk told them.

As Silk and OC began unloading all the stuff from the car, Rizzo and Jimmy entered the building. They went upstairs to the third floor, where they thought Craig Patrick told them they'd be rooming.

"It's floor three right?" Jimmy asked Rizzo.

"Let's hope," Rizzo chuckled, "He said the RA was in room 314. Let's go and get the keys from him."

The two hockey players walked down the hall until they reached room 314. Rizzo knocked on the door and put his hands in his pockets waiting for their RA to come out. There was no answer.

"Let's knock again," Jimmy impatiently said after waiting for a minute. He knocked this time and louder.

After about thirty seconds, the door suddenly opened. But a guy didn't open it. It was a blonde girl. Her hair was in a very messy bun and she looked like she slept in her clothes from the night before.

"What the fuck do you want?" she asked in a raspy voice, squinting her eyes at the light of the hallway.

"I'm sorry," Rizzo told her, "I think we got the wrong room. We're looking for the RA."

The blonde girl gave sniggered, "I'm the RA. What do you want?"

"We're with the hockey players moving in," Rizzo said. She looked utterly confused; did they get the wrong information?

The girl sighed and looked up for a moment. She got her eyes used to the light.

"Oh yeah. The Olympic team," she shook her head, "Sorry I blanked for a moment. What time is it?"

"It's one o'clock," Jimmy answered.

"AM or PM?" the girl put her hand on her head and rubbed her fingers on her temple.

"Afternoon," Jimmy answered.

"Ok," she nodded.

The blonde then turned around and walked back into her room, closing the door behind her. Rizzo and Jimmy both exchanged a 'what the hell?' look. A couple seconds later the blonde opened the door again. She had a little basket full of keys and a list in her hands.

"Here," she tried handing the basket and list to Rizzo.

Rizzo, who still had his hands in his pockets, took them out and immediately grabbed the items before she dropped them.

"You handle the list. You know, give the guys the keys and stuff. I haven't even looked at the list yet, so I don't know any of the names or anything," she yawned as she explained to the guys.

Rizzo and Jimmy both looked confused.

"You look like a natural-born leader. I'm sure you can handle it," she told Rizzo, then said quietly to herself, "I need to go to bed."

Before Jimmy or Rizzo could say anything back, the girl closed the door in their faces.

"Well she's a peach," Rizzo joked.

Jimmy laughed and nodded in sarcastic agreement. The two began to walk down the hallway to meet up with OC and Silk outside. They got to the elevator and saw Phil Verchota and Rob McClanahan get off. They had their suitcases with them.

"Hey Rizzo," Mac nodded, "What's up?"

"Just got the keys and room assignments from the RA," Rizzo told his new teammates.

Rizzo looked down at the list. After reading it he reached in the basket for the keys. He handed keys to the two of them.

"Mac you're with Johnson and Verchota you're rooming with Silky," Rizzo informed the guys.

"Thanks," Verchota nodded.

"More of the guys are unloading their cars outside. You can probably catch most of them there," Mac said.

Rizzo and Jimmy told Mac and Verchota that they'd see them later and then they went into the elevator.

"So who am I rooming with?" Jimmy asked.

"You're the only one in a single," Rizzo told him.

"Really?" Jimmy was confused. There were twenty-six guys even so there were supposed to be thirteen rooms for them.

"Well Buzzy's your roommate and he's married. So he won't be around much," Rizzo told him.

"Finally after all these years of college hockey and I get a room all to myself," Jimmy joked.

"Lucky you! I'm stuck with OC!" Rizzo laughed.

"Bummer," Jim sarcastically replied.

A couple of hours after the guys arrived to the residence halls, a few of them lazily immigrated into Mac and Mark's room. They lounged around, getting to know each other, all while trying to avoid the inevitable unpacking. The guys wanted to unpack in order to take away the ominous feeling of not knowing how long they would even be on the team, but at the moment they were lazy and wanted nothing more than to sit around and do nothing.

"So besides the girls in the hall, how are the women out here?" Silk asked no one in particular as he sat on the ground against one of the beds.

"Depends where you look," Bah began, "Girls from the city are hot but some are stuck up. The girls from small towns are only cute but down to earth. That's what makes Minnesota so great, there's a little bit of both."

"You mean there's more to do here than just tipping cows?" OC joked. He was dragged here reluctantly by his roommate Rizzo.

"So, Rizzo," Mark quickly tried to change the subject before there was any tense Boston vs. Minnesota moments, "I heard you met the RA. What's his name?"

"It's some girl. I didn't catch her name though," Rizzo answered.

"Was she hot?" Mac asked.

"I only saw her for like two seconds, and she was more of a hot mess. Hung-over and all," Rizzo laughed.

"Well that's good! It means we can get away with anything!" Phil joked.

The guys chuckled at this. They kept their door open to see some of their new hall-mates walk by. Besides the team, everyone else on the floor were girls. And if there was a female RA then it looked like it would be this way through the fall semester as well. For them, life was good.

For some of them, the good feeling quickly dissolved. The door to the RA's room, right across from Mac and Mark's, opened and out walked the girl from before. The only difference was she was a little cleaner. It looked like she showered and changed into some lounge clothes. She was holding a laundry basket with one arm and held it up with her hip. The blonde had a cigarette between her lips and with her free hand she picked up a lighter that was on top of her dirty clothes and lit the cigarette. She briefly looked up while she did this but then quickly looked away and threw the lighter back in her basket. She then hurried away.

"Holy shit," Robbie murmured under his breath so no one could hear him.

"Oh fuck," Phil muttered.

"Who's that?" Buzz questioned.

"Isn't that the RA from before?" Jimmy asked Rizzo.

"Yup," Rizzo nodded.

"She's the RA too?!" Verchota exclaimed.

"Yeah," Rizzo answered the question again, "Why? Who is that?"

"Mac's unfinished business," Phil answered.

"She's not unfinished business," Mac immediately responded.

"How's she unfinished?" Silk asked his new roommate Phil, ignoring Mac's response.

"Mallory, that's her name, and Mac were pretty hot and heavy last fall semester and then she just walked off the face of the earth," Phil explained.

"You mean she tried to avoid you?" Mark asked his roommate.

"I don't really know," Mac shrugged, sounding like he didn't care, "We weren't really serious. We were supposed to meet up at some end of semester party but she never showed up and then after break I went to her dorm and her roommate said she left school. And I mean I never saw her on campus or at parties or anything so I guess that must be true..."

"That's random," Bah said.

"Yeah," a few of the guys nodded in agreement.

"You know Mallory peaced out without a word, maybe she had a baby," Phil laughed as he tried to remain serious.

"Doubt it," Mac shook his head.

"Why not? You haven't seen her in months; she looks like she's put on some…"

"No it's not that."

"Then what? Mac doesn't want to be a baby daddy?" OC chirped.

"Well even if she had a kid it probably wouldn't be mine. We used protection every time and we were just dating, not in a relationship or anything. I didn't ask her but I have no doubt that she probably hooked up with other guys," Mac explained, "But I don't think she did because she wouldn't have kept it and stayed in school."

"You think she'd get rid of it?" Mark questioned.

"Yeah," Mac nodded knowingly, "She hates kids. She told me she never wants them."

"Why not?" Buzz was curious. He knew his wife wanted kids one day and did when she was Mallory's age too. He assumed all women wanted kids.

"Because they 'cry and poop and shit'," Mac air quoted Mallory's exact words. He remembered the conversation well, not because of its contents but it was right after they hooked up and were lying in his bed.

"Is she one of those new age-y feminist types?" Silk inquired a little weirded out by the idea.

"Nope," Mac answered, "She's just Mal."

"Do you think she saw you?" Ramsey asked Mac, "She like ran away after she lit her cigarette."

"I hope not," Mac groaned.

"Well dude, you're going to have to see her eventually," Mark laughed.

The guys badgered Mac about the Mallory situation for a while but Mac eventually got them to change the subject. Then the conversation turned to small talk. Periodically, and much to the guys' liking, random girls from the floor would come by the door and introduce themselves.

"Suter, did you watch the Brewers game last night?" Mark asked his friend and fellow Badger Bob Suter.

Before Bob could answer OC interjected, "Magic, don't get regional!"

"Sorry, man," Mark smiled, "I love the Brew Crew."

"Hey guys," their conversation was interrupted by a female voice.

The guys all turned their heads towards the door and saw Mallory standing against the door frame. The blonde had her laundry basket with her still but this time the clothes were all folded neatly inside. None of the guys knew what to say.

"I'm Mallory …your RA," she gave an awkwardly shy half smile.

"Hi," Mark and Rizzo in unison broke the silence.

"Hey it's Mallory McDonnell back from the dead!" Phil laughed, "Where you been for the past seven months, Mal?"

"Hiding from you, Verchota," Mallory teased giving him a wink.

A few of the guys laughed at this and it brought Mallory's confidence up so she was able to speak to them normally.

"Listen I gotta let you guys know the ground rules of the floor. I'm really lucky I caught you guys all together," Mallory began, "First off about drugs and stuff…"

"We know, we know! Don't do pot!" Silk interrupted her. He's heard that speech from all his RAs and coaches in the past. He can practically recite it.

"Actually I was gonna say, let me in on it!" Mallory laughed, "Seriously there's a drought going on around here. If you got some share with the rest of us on the floor. I've already talked to the other girls about it and we'd pay and stuff."

The guys all chuckled at this. They've never met an RA that was cool about drugs. They didn't do it that much since they were athletes but occasionally they did stuff. It was the '70s after all.

"But make sure you don't get caught by the cops or the other RAs or we won't help you out! Other than that you're not going to get in 'trouble'" Mallory warned while emphasizing 'trouble' to sound like a little kid, "Rule number two: no underage guests! I'm looking at you, Verchota!"

The guys all laughed again and so did Verchota, "That was only one time! And she was seventeen and eleven months!"

"Yeah well don't let it happen again. Younger brothers are fine. But, I bet you guys won't want to bring younger sisters here with a bunch of single hockey players around," the blonde snickered, "Rule number three is directly about me. Don't wake me up with a problem before eleven. If you do than you'll have an even bigger problem. Other than that, if you guys want to come to my room to talk, listen to good music, or just hang out I'm in the room right across from here and my door is usually open."

"I think Mac wants to talk to you," Verchota hinted.

Then the awkwardness from the beginning of this conversation came back. Noticeable to Verchota, Mac, and a lot of the other guys was that Mallory didn't even glance over to Mac's direction during this talk.

"Well if anyone wants to talk than they can come to my room," Mallory nervously shifted her weight to one foot.

"I have a question," OC raised his hand towards Mallory's shirt, "Are you a Rundy fan?"

The blonde looked down at her Todd Rundgren shirt and smiled, glad to change topics, "Yes! I am. I went to his concert last night. 'Hello It's Me' is like one of my favorite songs!"

"Guess that explains why she was a hot mess this morning," Rizzo whispered to Jimmy.

Jimmy laughed quietly and nodded in agreement.

"That's awesome. I love Rundy!" OC smiled at her.

Mac and the rest of the guys didn't know what OC was trying to do but before anyone could say anything else, a girl intervened.

"Hey Mal," a girl they briefly met on their floor earlier walked over to the blonde, "I just saw Randy pull up in the parking lot. He's talking to some people but he'll probably be up in five minutes."

"Shit!" Mallory exclaimed. She looked down at her messy clothes, "I'm still a wreck from last night!"

Mallory turned a quickly walked away, but not before shouting, "Nice to meet you guys! I'll learn names later!"

She opened her door and quickly slammed it shut. And like that she was gone.

"Glad you guys met Mallory! She's awesome," the girl smiled before walking away.

"She sure is," OC grinned at some of the guys.

Rizzo this time intervened before anyone else could say anything, "Woah, it's like seven thirty! Who wants a bite to eat?"

Rizzo and a couple of the guys, including OC, left Mac and Mark's room. Verchota still stayed though and Mac was pretty ticked with him as well.

"Phil, what the fuck?" Mac asked.

"What?" Phil replied, "I knew Mallory too! And you certainly wouldn't have talked to her voluntarily."

"Yeah because it would be so awkward. It's not like we were in love or anything. We just hooked up. I don't really want to talk to her that badly," Mac explained.

"Well just in case you want to start something up with her, I just opened that window for you!" Phil tried.

"He's already been there and done that!" Ramsey laughed.

The door to Mac and Mark's room was still open and from Mallory's room right across the guys could hear "Hello It's Me" from her record player.

"Well she has good taste in music. I'm not so sure about her taste in guys though," Bah joked.

The guys continued talking and joking around for a few more minutes until they saw some guy stop across from that at Mallory's door. He looked pretty young, maybe eighteen or nineteen max. He knocked on her door. A few seconds later an a lot nicer looking Mallory answered.

"It's important to me! That you know you are free!" she smiled and sang along with the album playing behind her.

The guy laughed, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Mallory smiled.

She quickly skipped into her room to turn off her record player and then left her room shutting the door behind her. The pair were walking away when they heard Verchota, who was watching with his friends from the other room, yell to them.

"Mal, I didn't know you were into younger guys! Just remember don't let him sleepover!"

The young guy looked pissed off and about to charge, "Excuse me! Who the hell…"

Mallory grabbed his arm, "Come on! Let's just go! Ignore him!"

The blonde pulled him away from the scene and before storming off herself she exclaimed, "He's my little brother you moron!"

"She sure showed you, Verchota," Pav joked.

"Whatever," Phil shrugged, "So Mac, are you going to talk to her?"

"Yeah, maybe," Robbie replied, "I'll figure it out later."

**Well, that was the first chapter! I really hope you liked it! Please review! I would love feedback and I want to know if I have readers that like it so I can continue this story!**


	2. Fox on the Run

**Dogdaysareover: Thanks for the review! It's good to be back haha. I'm glad you liked it!**

**Peachy65: Thanks for reviewing! You'll see more of Mallory and the guys in this chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

**Irishgirl837: Thanks for the review!**

**Penelopeparish: Thanks for reviewing! More of the storyline with Mallory and the guys will unfold here!**

**Lulu: Thanks the reviewing!**

**LTJM: Thanks for the review! **

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for reviewing! Mac and Mallory will have some parts in this chapter. I hope you like it!**

**AN: Thanks so much for all your awesome reviews! I loved them! I really hope you like this chapter too **

**Chapter 2**

The day after moving in, the team had their first practice. The tension between the different college players from try-outs and the day before boiled over in the practice. Rob McClanahan and Jack O'Callahan got into a fight. After practice ended, Robbie got his face checked out because it got pretty bloodied up during the fight. When Doc cleared him he left the rink quickly, not wanting to get into round two in the locker room.

Luckily Mac brought his own car to practice so he was able to leave quickly. He got back to the residence hall and walked through the lobby pretty quickly. Luckily, not many students were there. He didn't want to have to explain the long story about the fight. OC was still pissed about '76 and not many people understand that hockey players have long memories.

Mac made it through the lobby and up the elevator to his floor without anyone noticing his swollen face. While walking down the empty hallway to his room, he sighed in relief that he managed to avoid everyone. But the sigh was a little premature. As he walked he saw Mallory leaving her room with some books in her arms. The hockey player saw the RA walking towards the direction he just came from. Then instead of passing him, she walked right up to him.

"Oh jeez, Robbie! What happened to your face?" Mallory asked with a disgusted look on her face.

"Nothing. Just stuff happened at practice today," Robbie tried to move past her to get to his own room.

Mallory put her hand on his chest to stop him from going. In her brown eyes, Robbie saw a genuine look of concern.

"You look like you're in a lot of pain," she tried, "I've got some ice packs in my room. Come on."

Mallory nodded toward the door to her room behind them. Mac's head shook back. He didn't know what to say.

'Is this a come on?' he wondered.

"Robbie," she sighed, "For the both of our sakes', let's not pretend that you've never been in my dorm room before."

Mallory then rolled her eyes, took his arm and physically led him back to her room. She took her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She opened it and held the door open. She motioned with her hand for Robbie to go in first.

"After you," she insisted.

Reluctantly he entered. Under normal circumstances, he would be more than willing to go in to a pretty girl's dorm room. But Mallory was anything but ordinary. He had a past with her. Sure they were never official or anything but they never really ended it. He quickly bounced back after she left school but he had no idea where she stood on the matter. He hoped that she didn't want to get back together. Until he finds out the truth, things would be awkward between them.

"Luckily, all the RAs are required to keep some first aide supplies at hand…"

"Wow," he looked at his surroundings, "Your room looks exactly the same."

Mallory ignored his comment, dropped her books on her desk and walked over to the other side of her small room. There was an icebox in the corner. She took the lid off, reached in, and grabbed an ice pack. She then walked back over to Robbie, who looking in her bathroom.

"You've got a private bathroom too? You're the only one on this floor…"

"Privilege of being an RA. Here," she handed him the ice pack.

He took it and placed it right on his nose. As he did this, Mallory shut her bathroom door and the main door.

"You should sit down for a bit," Mallory advised, "Your nose looks broken. Did you have it checked out?"

"Yeah," Robbie nodded as he sat down on the edge of her bed, "Doc said it was broken, but I could still play."

To the hockey player, being able to play was all that mattered. It was his dream since he was a kid to play on the Olympic team. He wasn't going to let a broken nose over a stupid regional fight shatter this dream.

Mallory sat down in the chair that came with the standard desk offered in every dorm room. She half-smiled and nodded, "That's good."

Then silence fell before them. And an awkward silence at that. The last time they were alone in a room together they hooked up. But that was almost seven months ago. Mallory looked down on her feet and pretended like the situation wasn't happening. Robbie looked around the room for a few more seconds then decided to break the silence.

"So…uh....how have you been?" Mac asked.

"Okay," she turned her attention from her feet back to him, "How about you? Excited about the Olympic team?"

"Yeah," Robbie nodded, "I really hope I make it. Herb still has six people to cut before the final roster."

"I'm sure you'll make it, Rob. You're a good player," she told him.

"Thanks," he said quietly. The small talk was just as awkward as the silence. The hockey player decided to find out more, "Mal…why did you leave school?"

Mallory sighed. She knew that he would ask this sooner or later. In her mind, she owed him a bit of an explanation. They were seeing each other and then she just left without a word. But she didn't figure that he actually cared about that until Phil said on move-in day that Robbie wanted to speak with her.

"I just needed some time," the blonde replied.

"Mallory, we had a month off for break. Wasn't that enough?" Mac tried.

"No," she shook her head, "I guess I didn't want to graduate and I tried to hold it off. And I needed some money to pay for the semester. The only reason I'm living here and not at home is because the school said if I was an RA I could get free room and board."

"That's it?" Mac was surprised by her simple answer.

"Well…yeah," she slowly nodded not giving him direct eye contact, "The time off helped me a lot. It made me realize that I wanted to minor in economics to go with my business degree. So now this summer I'm taking my classes to get my minor credit and I'll finish up my major credit during the fall semester."

"I thought you told me you got a lot of aide to come here…"

"Well you must've heard wrong!" Mallory was getting agitated, "What is this? An interrogation?"

"I'm sorry, Mallory! Jeez," he was surprised by her sudden fit of anger, "I must've confused you with someone else."

"Yeah," Mallory rolled her eyes, still sounding a little mad.

Mac then remembered the conversation that he had with Verchota on moving day. He teased Mac and told him that Mallory had Mac's kid. Mac immediately said that that would never happen, but Mallory was being awfully defensive. In Mac's weird logic he knew that she was already pissed off so much that asking her wouldn't make it any worse.

"When you were gone…you didn't have a kid did you?" Mac was a brave man.

"What?" she sounded even madder than before.

"Well Phil and I were talking and…"

"That's never good," Mallory interrupted.

"And he was joking around saying you left because you had a kid. I denied it and stuff. But just now you were getting so defensive, so I was just wondering if that was true?" Mac was nervous for her response to this, and expected the worse.

Mallory did the most surprising thing. She laughed. She laughed a lot. As she was laughing, she tried saying something but Mac couldn't make out what it was. The hockey player laughed nervously along with the blonde, unsure if this laugh was just overdone sarcasm or not.

"Have you ever met me?" Mallory was still laughing, "I'm certainly not ready for kids yet! I can't even take care of myself!"

"So I take it as a no then?" Mac was laughing.

Mallory then suddenly stopped laughing, "No, I did have a kid."

"WHAT?" Mac put his free hand on his heart. He felt it skip a beat.

"Kidding, ya moron!" she rolled her eyes, "And don't listen to any more of the Verchota's word around the campfire! I swear, you boys gossip more than teenyboppers."

Robbie let out a sigh in relief. He was glad that she didn't have his baby and he was happy that she didn't tear his head off for asking about it.

Before Robbie could say anything, Mallory began to talk, "Look, I'm sorry this must be awkward for you. I mean I left without any warning. But I didn't think it was that big of a deal. We were just friends with benefits! But when Phil said you wanted to speak to me, I got nervous. I'm really sorry if you wanted something more than what we had…but I just didn't like you that way…"

"Phil was just trying to piss me off," the hockey player reassured her, "I knew what we had and I liked what we had. But I just wanted that too. I thought when you saw me that you were pissed."

"Don't worry! I wasn't!" she laughed, "Wow Phil is really causing a lot of problems."

"I'll say," Robbie shook his head, thinking of his roommate.

"I'm really glad we talked this out. I just didn't want it to be awkward between us," Mallory smiled.

"Me too," he smiled back at her, "So, have you bought any good albums lately?"

Robbie looked over to her wall. Against it were crates filled with albums. He knew that Mallory was an avid music fan. She knew a lot about many different bands from a range of genres. She read _Rolling Stone_ Magazine as if they were psalms in _The_ _Bible_ and she was an evangelical. If hockey was Robbie's passion, than Mallory's would be listening to music.

"Actually I have," Mallory giggled, "I got the UK version of Sweet's 'Desolation Boulevard'. I know how much you love Sweet!"

"Fuck Sweet!" Robbie laughed, "I can't believe you like them! I wonder why you hate ABBA so much if you like Sweet."

"Oh my God, Robbie! Sweet and ABBA are completely different! Sweet is glam rock! ABBA sucks! I'm not that big of a disco fan but I love dancing, and every time a club plays them I immediately leave the dance floor."

"I know, I remember," Robbie gave a light laugh, reminiscing.

"Besides this album has an extended version of 'Fox on the Run'. You may not like the band, but you have to admit that it's a good song!"

"It's decent. But I'm more of a Led Zeppelin guy myself," he told her.

Mallory got out of her seat and walked over to her record player. She turned it on and 'Fox on the Run' began to play in the background.

"Whatever. I think it's good," she sighed, "One more question. You never told me what happened with your face…"

"I got in a fight," he told her, "With that guy who was chatting you up on move-in day."

"What guy?" she laughed. She didn't remember that happening and didn't think he'd care if she was flirting.

"Yeah that guy you talked about Todd Rundgren with. His name is Jack," he explained.

"Oh yeah!" she laughed, "I don't know names yet. And I wasn't like flirting with him. I smiled and laughed because of his voice. Seriously, what is that?!?"

"He's from Boston," he laughed, "It's kind of overwhelming at first. I mean, why can't they pronounce their 'Rs'?"

"I don't know!" she exclaimed, then sang off-key along with the second verse, "You talk about every band, But the names you drop are second hand, I've heard it all before...That's just like your taste in music, Robbie."

"Shut up!" he chuckled.

Once the song ended, Mac took the ice pack off of his nose. The swelling went down a lot. It still looked bad, but not nearly as bad as before.

"I've gotta go. It was good seeing you, Mal," Robbie stood up.

"Yeah I need to go study in the library," she turned off the record player. Then she grabbed her schoolbooks from her desk.

The two walked toward the door and Mac opened it. He let Mallory go out before him. He then left and closed the door.

"Thanks," the blonde smiled, "I'll see you later, Robbie."

Mac went straight across and went into his room. Mallory turned left to go to the elevators. She saw three figures walking her way. At first she couldn't make them out but as she walked forward they became clearer. It was Verchota and two of his teammates, whose names she didn't know.

"Hey guys," she smiled as she walked passed them.

"Hey, Mal. What were you doing with Mac in your room?" Verchota teased.

Mallory turned around and rolled her eyes, "You think you're so funny! You better watch it or Randy might kick your ass this time."

"Robbie and Randy? Oh boy, just like old times," Phil joked.

"I already told you! Randy is my brother you idiot!" she laughed. She didn't know if he was just teasing her or was genuinely being rude, but she tried her best to keep the conversation light so there wouldn't be tension.

Mallory quickly changed the subject. She turned to the guys whose names she didn't know, "Hi! I'm Mallory your RA. I'm trying to learn names. What are yours?"

"I'm Mark Johnson," the dirty-blonde boy said shyly.

"Dave Silk," the hockey player nodded at her.

"Nice to meet you guys," she grinned, "I gotta study. I'll see you later."

The RA left the three hockey players and made it to the elevator at the end of the hall. She got in and it took her down the lobby. When the doors separated she saw a familiar face. It was the cute guy with the funny accent.

"Hi," he gave her a big grin.

Mallory giggled and looked down, "Hi!"

They both tried to move, Mallory wanted to get off the elevator and the guy wanted to get on. They both tried to maneuver around each other but when Mallory would go left, he would accidentally go right and they would bump into each other. He finally cleared the way and she got off. When she nodded for him to get on, he didn't.

"I'll wait for the next one if you keep me company while I wait," he offered.

The doors to the elevator then closed.

"Uh oh. I guess I'm just gonna have to wait here," she laughed.

"Guess so," he smiled, "I'm Jack O'Callahan."

"Mallory McDonnell. I'm your RA. I think we met before but I never got your name," she told him, "So I heard you're from Boston?"

"Born and raised," he told her.

"Bohn?" she laughed at his accent.

"Hey, hey! I'm a little self-conscience. Especially if a pretty girl is making fun of me," he jokingly sounded offended.

"I'm sorry," she tried to reassure him, "A lot of girls like accents!"

"Do you?"

Just then the elevator doors opened. They both looked at students getting out. It was now OC's turn to go in.

"I'll let you know," she said softly.

"I see you're going to study. So, I'll see you later," he nodded at her and walked towards the elevator. She began walking toward the exit, but stopped herself.

"Yeah," she nodded, and then she turned and said, "I saw what you did to Robbie's face. And as much as I like fighting, keep the anger on the ice. You don't need to like each other or anything, but if you fight in the dorm I'm going to have to file a lot of paperwork and you both might get kicked out."

OC turned to look at her. He looked a little puzzled. How did she already know about the fight?

"Ok," he nodded, "Thanks for the warning."

"Sure," she sighed, "Looks like your face is still in tact. I take it you were victorious?"

"Yupp," he gave the same grin he did when he first saw her, "So you like people who fight, huh?"

The doors then closed again, without OC. The blonde girl snickered and shook her head.

"Like I said, I'll let you know. I'm not waiting with you this time. I've got a study date with Adam Smith," she held up her Economics text book.

"Just remember that Smith believed in competition and individual company success but was very much against monopolies," he told her, "Which is contrasting because if one believes in self-interest than they should probably believe in monopolies too because monopolies ensure the most success. But that's just my thoughts on it anyways…"

Mallory's jaw dropped. Most hockey players she knew thought Adam Smith was a pilgrim on the Mayflower or never heard of him at all.

"Yeah. I went to Boston University on an academic scholarship, not a sports one," he joked.

"I can see that," she cracked up and shook her head in disbelief, "I gotta go. I'll see you sometime…"

"Hopefully sooner rather than later!" he shouted, reverting back to flirtation.

"Unbelievable," Mallory laughed to herself, still in shock with the conversation that just took place.

**Well that was it. I absolutely **_**loved**_** the reviews from my last chapter. It would be awesome to hear from you all again **** I hope you liked it!**


	3. Saturday Night Fever

**LTJM: Thanks for reviewing **

**Peachy65: I'm glad you liked the parts with Mallory talking to both OC and Mac. You'll see some more of that in this chapter. Thanks for the review!**

**Lulu: Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like the next chapter!**

**Irishgirl837: There will be more Mac and Mallory stuff to come! I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reviewing **

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks so much for reviewing! There will be more parts with both Mac and Mallory and OC and Mallory in this chapter! Mac just might be a brave man again too haha! I hope you like it.**

**Dogdaysareover: Thanks for the review! I hope you like the next chapter too!**

**AN: Wow, this chapter came out a lot longer than I thought it would! I guess the length makes up for the time I made you wait. I'm sorry about that! It's almost time for exams so it's been a little bit hectic. Thank god for the Stanley Cup playoffs because they give me inspiration to write haha. Anyways, thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed my last chapter and I hope you like this one!**

**AN 2: If any of you are trying to picture what Mallory looks like than I got the idea of her from a quick glimpse I remember from the Miracle trailer. It's a girl that Rizzo is dancing with. I got the idea for this chapter from that part of the preview.**

**Chapter 3**

The first week of practice came and went. The only incident that occurred was Mac and OC's fight during the very first one. After that Coach Brooks made it very clear that he didn't want to see that kind of behavior again. Now it was weekend. It was a hot Saturday night and everyone was making plans. A few of the guys on the teams had dates with their girlfriends, but a good number of them were single so their nights were open to ideas.

"Do you have any clue about what we should do tonight?" OC asked Jimmy as the two of them walked down the hall to Silk's room.

"No clue. Maybe a movie or something?" the goalie suggested.

"Nah way, man. Nothing is out," OC told him.

As they kept walking, they saw Mallory leave her room. OC stopped moving and put his arm up to Jim's chest to stop him from walking too. Their RA was looking good. She wore a pink long sleeve shirt and a denim mini-skirt. She was walking towards the elevators and saw the two guys standing there.

"Hey Jack," she smiled at the blonde, and then turned to Jimmy, "Hi Jimmy. It's Jimmy, right?"

She was still learning names. She was in her classes and they were at practices so the team didn't see too much of their RA yet.

"Yeah," Jim nodded.

"Yay!" Mallory clapped her hands out of excitement over getting the name right.

"Now what occasion is making you look extra great tonight?" OC checked Mallory out.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. He didn't want to be here for this. It seems that ever since OC left Boston, he's wanted to get laid. Besides that, he didn't like Mallory as much as some of the other guys did. Sure, she was cute, but she seemed kind of fake to him. She always seemed to be flirting with the other guys or listening to music and doing god knows what in her room.

"I'll meet you in Silk's room," Jim told OC before suddenly walking away.

OC just ignored him and looked at Mallory to listen to her response.

"I've got my friend from back home's bachelorette party tonight. We're going clubbing at one of the discos in the city," she explained.

"That sounds fun," then a light bulb went off in OC's head, "Say, are there a lot of discos in Minneapolis?"

"There are some," she told him, "Why?"

"Oh, some of the guys and I were trying to think of what to do tonight. Maybe I could suggest clubbing to them," OC replied.

"Cool," she smiled, "You should try the Domino Room. That's the hottest club in town."

"How so?" he asked.

"Because that's where I'll be," she winked and giggled, "My friends are waiting for me downstairs. Maybe I'll see you later."

As she walked away, OC checked her out again and said to himself, "God, I hope."

OC then walked quickly down the hallway to Silky's and Verchota's room, where many guys on the team were hanging out trying to figure out what to do that night.

"Guys, I've got an idea…" OC announced as he entered the room.

OC's suggestion of going to the Domino Room was praised by all of the guys. No one but Jimmy knew that he was talking to Mallory right before he suggested it and he was surprised that no one questioned OC for knowing about the club since he wasn't from the area. But the guys were all pretty pumped with the idea of going to the club so they didn't ask too many questions about how he came up with the idea.

The guys got ready, ate dinner, and arrived at the club a few hours later. Some of them sat down at a big table and others got beers from the bar. While most of the guys who went to the bar left to go back to the table, OC, Rizzo and Dave Christian stayed. Dave was chatting up a pretty blonde and OC and Rizzo were watching to see if she would actually believe his ridiculous pick-up line he was selling. The girl obviously did because she led Dave to the dance floor. While being led away, Dave turned around to his two teammates and nodded at them.

"I don't believe it…"

"Nor do I," OC was stunned, "Well it looks like that blind squirrel got her nut."

Rizzo laughed and OC took a sip of his beer. OC then felt fingers tapping his lower back. He looked over to his side and saw Mallory standing beside him, leaning against the bar.

"Hey, you made it!" she greeted him.

"I sure did," he smiled back at her, "How's the bachelorette party?"

Rizzo could tell that this was becoming a two-way conversation and that three was a crowd.

"I'm gonna head back to the table, see you later," then he nodded towards the blonde, "Mallory."

"Bye Rizzo," she nodded giving him a smile, "He doesn't have to go…"

"He'll be fine," OC told her.

When Rizzo walked away she answered OC's question, "Well, it's going pretty great actually. We're getting her pretty drunk. Luckily the wedding isn't for another couple of weeks."

"It will take that long to get over that hangover she's gonna have," OC joked.

"What do you mean?" Mallory laughed, "We're all innocent virgins at our table…"

"I saw the tequila shots sent to your way when we first got here….far from innocent," the hockey player teased.

They both laughed at his joke, especially since the bartender was getting more tequila for Mallory as they spoke.

"So I'm guessing you're pretty tied up with your friends," OC sounded a little disappointed.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I'm at Lynn's beck-and-call. She is the bride-to-be after all."

"Do you always rhyme when you're drunk?"

"I'm not drunk," she shook her head a little sadly, "Unfortunately, I have to go back to my friends now. She's a little nervous about the wedding. We've been at her side constantly, giving her drinks, trying to calm her down. Once we get her drunk enough, we'll have fun. We're thinking truth-or dare or betting or something like that."

"Bummer," OC sighed, "You just look so great tonight and I wish I could see you more."

Mallory blushed, "I'm sorry. But, I'm not the only one busy! You should go back to the guys. You need you're team bonding or male bonding or whatever you guys call it. And there's no better way than getting drunk together! I got to go now. I'll see ya later."

"Later, Mallory," he nodded at her as she walked away, back to her friends' table.

OC went back to the table that the rest of the team was occupying. The trip to the disco was actually a pretty good idea. The guys seemed to be bonding and getting to know each other off the ice. Most athletes would tell you that a good team on the ice is also a close group off the ice. Now they weren't all going to become best friends right away, but this small thing was certainly a start.

After a while of sitting around the table laughing and sharing stories, with the occasional time someone got up to dance with a girl, the team was running out of alcohol.

"Dude, could you get us some more beers?" Rizzo heard OC ask him, "It's your turn."

"Sure," Rizzo nodded to his friend.

Rizzo walked up to the bar and waited for the bartender to serve him. There was only one guy behind the bar and a lot of people surrounding it so he figured the wait would be a while. He was looking forward and felt somebody come up right next to him. He then heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Rizzo"

The hockey player looked to his right and saw Mallory smiling at him as she leaned against the bar. She must've been learning the guys' names better. He noticed her sitting with some of her girlfriends in a big table in the other side of the bar. Rizzo didn't recognize them from the floor so he figured they must be other college friends or friends from home.

"Hi," he nodded back, trying to be friendly.

"You having fun?" Mallory asked as she glanced over to the table where he sat with a bunch of the guys.

"Yeah," he replied.

Mallory looked up towards her table where her friends all sat. Then she turned her attention back to Rizzo.

"Listen, I've got a bet with my friends that I can hit on you and get you to dance with me. They don't know that we know each other. Its ten bucks so do you wanna dance with me and split it?" she giggled as she rubbed his arm with her hand. She was trying to show her friends that she was doing the 'flirting' portion of the bet.

Rizzo laughed and paused for a moment, a little surprised by how blunt she was and how she didn't even build-up the question, like most girls would.

"Sure," he grinned, "What the hell, why not?"

The hockey player then turned to look at the dance floor, quickly glancing up to Mallory's friends in the process. The DJ turned a new song, Carl Carlton's "Everlasting Love".

"Come on," Rizzo grabbed Mallory's hand and lead her onto the dance floor.

Mallory and Rizzo got onto the floor where all the other couples were dancing. They got pretty close to Mallory's friends' table so that they could see that Mallory was dancing with Rizzo. The two began dancing and got pretty into it. They got sucked into the song and Mallory kept shifting from facing Rizzo to turning around and grinding up against him. They were both smiling and looked like they were having a blast.

Not just Mallory's friends saw them dancing. All the guys at the table noticed the pair on the dance floor too.

"Well, Mac, it looks like you've got some competition," Phil patted his friend on the back and laughed. After a week, he was still badgering Mac about Mallory.

"Whatever." Mac shrugged him off and took a drink of his beer.

At the end of the song, the guys saw Rizzo and Mallory hug and Mallory whispering something in their teammate's ear. The two parted and Rizzo walked by his table to see the guys all starring at him. He figured that they saw him dancing with Mallory.

"I'll go get the beers now," Rizzo said with a goofy look on his face.

When he got back to the table with the beers, he quietly told a pissed-off looking OC that it was just a bet that she had with her friends, which seemed to relieve OC. About a half an hour after Rizzo came back to the table with the group's drinks, it was Robbie's turn to get beers from the bar. At the same time that he got to the bar, a familiar blonde also arrived. He didn't notice her walk across the club to get to the bar. If he did he may not have come to avoid hearing his teammates' comments about them.

"Robbie, hi," she must've been just as surprised to see him at the bar as he was to see her.

"Hey, Mal," he sighed and looked away from her.

Seeing that Robbie wasn't in to having a conversation, she turned to the bartender who just came up to serve them.

"Hey, what can I get you?" he asked.

"I'll have…," both Mallory and Robbie talked in unison and stopped when they realized what happened. Mallory's face turned slightly red from embarrassment.

"You can order first," Robbie told her.

"Thanks," she said softly, while not even looking at him and then turned to the bartender, "Can I have another round of tequila for my table?"

"Sure."

Mallory and Robbie stood in an awkward silence for a moment. Then Robbie spoke up.

"So, how was dancing with Rizzo?" Robbie asked.

"Fine," she laughed and shook her head, "Why do you care?"

"I don't. I was just wondering," the hockey player replied.

The thing was that he didn't know if he cared, or if he should have cared. They never actually agreed to be friends or anything. Even if they had, it would still be kind of awkward because they were never really friends to begin with. As soon as they met, they just began hooking up.

"Here you go," Robbie was snapped out of his train of thought when the bartender brought Mallory her drinks.

"Thanks," she paid him, and then started some small talk, "At least the music is pretty decent tonight."

"Yeah it's been pretty good so far. And it's about to get even better! The DJ is going to start an ABBA hour in about five minutes," the bartender informed her.

"Oh fuck me!" the blonde sighed, "I gotta leave. I can't stand ABBA."

She was starting to walk away but then she remembered that Robbie wasn't a big fan of the group either, "You coming, Robbie?"

"Yeah," Mac nodded, "I can drive home I brought my car."

Mallory nodded. Now that was an arrangement they had been used to. They went dancing with some groups a couple of times and there always managed to be an ABBA thing going on. They'd always leave to avoid listening to a band that Mallory claimed, "The day of their birth was the day the music died."

"I gotta go bring these drinks to my table. I'll meet you at the door," she grabbed the tray of tequila to bring back to her friends.

Mac walked back towards his table. He was surprised to see them not watching his conversation with Mallory, like they had watched her dance with Rizzo.

"Hey, where's the beer?" Verchota asked, unaware of the situation.

"Someone else can get it. I'm out," he then walked to the door to find Mallory just arriving herself.

"Let's go," she led the way out.

None of the guys knew that Mac left with Mallory. They couldn't even tell by looking at her table to see her not there because her table was across the dance floor, which was flooded with couples who were getting into ABBA's "Fernando". So the guys went on with their usual conversations, without any gossip about what Mac could or could not be doing at the moment.

"Guys, hottie at twelve o'clock," Phil nodded towards the bar.

A few of the guys looked up to see who Phil was talking about. The bar was so crowded with people surrounding it that nobody knew who Phil was referring to.

"Which one?" OC laughed, "There are at least twenty girls there."

"The brunette in the red halter dress. She has the flower in her hair," Phil pointed to her.

"Put your hand down, Verchota," Bah grabbed Phil's arm and pulled it down, "She's gonna think you're a weirdo for pointing."

"I bet you I can get her to go to bed with me," Phil said seriously, "Silk, you mind not going back to the room tonight?"

"Go to her place," Silk shrugged as he finished his nearly empty glass of beer.

"Okay," Phil nodded. He then got up to go talk to the girl, who looked like she was just waiting at the bar.

A few of the guys watched as Phil was trying to pull the moves on the girl. They saw him buy her a drink. The girl must've been a little fancy because she got a red wine. She was drinking the wine as she just nodded and gave a small smile to Phil, who was doing all the talking.

"I'm outta beer," Silk announced, "I'm gonna get some more."

"I'll come with," Jimmy volunteered, "I want another drink too."

The two hockey players got up and walked towards the bar. They were from the same place and played for the same school, but they couldn't look more opposite. Silk walked confidently in this bar, almost as if he owned it. Jimmy, on the other hand, walked with his hands in his pockets and he was slouching. He wasn't that much into the club scene. He didn't like dancing that much and was practically dragged here by OC.

They got to the bar and were only about five feet from Phil and the brunette he was chatting up. Silk leaned against the bar and Jimmy stood a next him but away from the crowd. Silk listened to Phil's one-sided conversation.

"Doesn't sound good for Verchota," Silk joked.

Jimmy laughed, "Guess he won't need your room tonight."

"I wouldn't have given it to him anyways."

Jimmy and Silk both laughed. While laughing, Jimmy looked over to Phil and the girl. The goalie saw the girl looking up at him and smiling. Jim stopped laughing and smiled back at her. She was a lot more beautiful close up. She had the prettiest blue eyes that Jim had ever seen. Verchota thought that the girl was smiling at him and kept talking.

"She seems in to you, Jimmy. Go talk to her," Silk tried to persuade his friend.

"Nah…I don't know," Jim shook his head, "Verchota's already talking to her."

"So? They're not married," Silk laughed.

Silk then maneuvered around the people standing at the bar right up to Verchota and the girl.

"Hey," he then pulled Jim's arm and brought him into the conversation, "Have you met, Jim?"

The girl laughed and shook her head, "No."

"Well, have fun with that," Silk snickered, "Come on, Phil. Let's go get some beer."

"But I was…."

"You were bombing," Silk told him quietly so that the girl couldn't hear.

"Fine," Verchota shrugged, knowing he'd lose that battle.

The two walked away, leaving Jimmy alone with the girl.

"I'm Jim."

"I know," she nodded, "I'm Elizabeth."

"People call me Jimmy."

"People call me Elizabeth," she took a sip from her wine.

"Not Liz or Lizzie?" he asked.

"Just Elizabeth," she stressed.

"Okay…Elizabeth," he laughed.

His laugh caused her to laugh too, "Sorry I just hate when people call me that. My mother named me Elizabeth. If she wanted me to be called Liz or Lizzie then she would've named me Liz or Lizzie."

"No, it's alright. I've just never met anyone who cared so much about a nickname," he chuckled.

"Well you brought it up," she smiled, "So tell me, Jimmy, do you believe in the saying 'All's fair in love and war'?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was just talking to your buddy over there," she nodded towards his table, "And you got your friend to intervene for you."

"So? It's not like you seemed interested anyways," Jim answered her.

"I wasn't," she laughed, "Thanks for saving me from that one. I owe ya one."

"Anytime," he smiled back to her.

She then turned her attention to the door. She gasped and put her hand on her forehead, "Oh brother…."

"Are you okay?"

"I have to go," she said quickly. She then gulped the rest of her drink and scuffled away, leaving a confused Jimmy standing at the bar.

Jimmy walked back to his table, with a confused expression on his face. He shook his head to forget about the weird thing that just happened, but his teammates had to ask about it.

"What happened, Jimmy?" Verchota asked, "I saw her run away from you."

"At least she talked to me, man," Jimmy joked.

"Ohhhh," a bunch of the guys laughed and teased.

Even Verchota laughed, "Whatever, there are other fish in the sea."

"Yeah," Jim nodded, "Other fish in the sea…"

Mac and Mallory arrived back to their residence hall about twenty minutes after they left the club. They filled the time with small talk and listening to music on the radio. Once they got to the hall, the majority of the building was completely empty. It was a hot summer Saturday night, they were all out partying.

"I'm sure your friend won't be mad at you for leaving her bachelorette party early," Mac tried to reassure Mallory, who talked about how she was worried her friend would be mad at her during the car ride home, "ABBA sucks, she'll understand."

"I hope," she sighed as the pair got off the elevator.

The two walked down the hallway and stopped at where their doors were, same location on the floor but on opposite sides.

"So good night, Robbie. Thanks again for driving me home," she was facing him with her back against her door. She took a cigarette out of her purse and lit it, huffing out the first smoke.

"No problem," he nodded. He just stood there, looking down at Mallory. It made her feel kind of uncomfortable.

"Bye," she sighed while giving him a small wave.

Mallory took her cigarette out of her mouth and huffed out smoke again. She tried to avoid Robbie's face because she knew he was not a smoker. The blonde turned around to unlock her door.

"Mallory," Robbie grabbed the girl by her waist and turned her to face him. Then he kissed her.

The kiss lasted all but a few seconds. He felt that Mallory wasn't kissing back. When he let go from the kiss he saw her giving him a confused stare while she huffed out more smoke from her mouth. The two stood in silence for a moment. Robbie was mortified by what he had just done and Mallory a little weirded out.

"Robbie, come inside," she unlocked her door while she was looking at him at the same time, "I don't want to have this conversation out here."

Mallory opened the door and let herself in first. She turned on the overhead light. The hockey player took a deep breath and followed her.

"I'm really sorry," Mac was a little speechless, "I just thought that when you asked me to leave with you, that you meant to actually 'leave with you'."

"No, no. It's okay," she tried to reassure him as she closed her door, "It's fine."

"So did you really mean just leave to get away from the music? Because all the other times we left, we fooled around afterwards…"

"I…I just wanted to get away from the music," Mallory told him as she took her final huff from her cigarette before putting it in the ashtray on her desk, "I'm sorry if I made you believe it was something more. Let's just not do that again."

"Why not? I liked our arrangement before. Can't we just go back to that? No strings attached, like last time," he moved closer to her and brushed his hand against her cheek.

"No," she moved back from him, shook her head and sat down on her bed. He was still standing in the middle of her room, "I didn't feel anything, Robbie."

"I didn't either! It's the same I've always felt. I didn't feel a thing," he told her honestly, hoping that that's what she wanted to hear.

"That's the point! I don't want that!" she tried, "I don't want you! I'm sorry, Robbie. I don't want to go back to that situation again. I just can't do that…"

"Why not? You never cared before. Why do you suddenly care now?" Robbie was confused and a little pissed.

"Because I just can't, Robbie! I was a different person back then!" she didn't want to sound mean, but her voice was a little louder than she had anticipated.

"Whatever," Mac shrugged as he walked away from her.

He opened her door and as he was about to walk away, he stopped himself. He looked down to his feet and said in a lower voice, "I'm sorry. Let's just forget this ever happened."

"Okay," she nodded quickly in agreement.

Robbie took a deep breath, "Okay."

The hockey player than walked out and closed the door behind him. That was finally the closure on their little long dead fling that they both needed.

**Please review! I love your reviews so much! They make me so happy and so in the mood to write you have no idea! I love them!**


	4. Get Off Of My Cloud

**LTJM: Thanks for reviewing! This chapter is a little different because it doesn't have Mallory in it at all, but she'll be back soon!**

**Lulu: Thanks for the review!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for reviewing. There will be more guy interactions to come this chapter. I hope you like it!**

**AN: Hey guys, sorry it took so long to write this one. I was first busy with finals then I had my older cousin's graduation to go to out of state. Anyways I'm here now with a brand new chapter! I wish I had a little more motivation to write this one though. I absolutely loved what you had to say for my first two chapters. The lack of reviews for my last chapter was very disheartening and did not motivate me at all to write. Please review and don't allow that to happen again! Now that I'm done with my tangent, enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

Two days after all going to the dance club, the team was beginning their second week of practice. The guys were all still getting to know each other and learning the new plays that Herb drew out for them. But the locker room became a lot chattier than the previous week.

While most of the guys were still talking and putting gear on in the locker room Jim, Silk, Mark, Verchota and Bah wanted to be the first people on the fresh sheet of ice. Walking through the hallway that led from the locker room to the ice, the guys ran into their assistant coach Craig Patrick. They were all talking as they walked down the hallway towards the ice.

"Hey guys, how was your weekend?" Craig asked no one in particular.

"Jim and Verchota both made a girl run away from them," Bah laughed.

"Actually she just left me, she ran from Jimmy," Phil corrected.

"That's nothing to be proud of, Phil," the coach teased.

When they finally got to the bench where they get on the ice, the group then saw two women in the center of the ice talking. They were both on skates. There was an older blonde woman, who looked to be in her thirties, and a brunette, but the guys only saw the back of her head.

"Who are those people on the ice?" Mark asked his coach, "I thought we were the first people of the day to use the ice."

"I guess not. The must be people who have ice time before us. Our time just began, so I'm going to go tell them," Craig Patrick stepped out onto the ice and skated towards the blonde woman. The brunette was a few feet away practicing posing with her hands a certain way.

The guys watched their coach's exchange with the woman. It was mostly him talking with the blonde just nodding a whole lot. Then Craig began skating back towards his players. This gave the guys a better view of both of the women's faces.

"Hey, Jim, isn't that that girl you met at the Domino Room on Saturday?" Silk pointed to the brunette girl on the ice.

"Holy shit I think it is!" Verchota laughed.

"Elizabeth?" Jim looked closely at the girl to look for the resemblance, "I don't know. I can't tell from this far away. Why do you think it's her?"

"Because they were watching you guys talk the whole time from a distance," Bah joked, "They can only tell what she looks like far away."

"I doubt it's…." Jim was cut off.

"ARE YOU FUCKIN' SERIOUS?" they heard the brunette yell at the older blonde woman, "WHAT THE HELL?"

"Woah…" the guys who were watching the scene were taken aback. They didn't know that such a small person even knew those words. In better light the guys saw that she was pretty short. She looked taller in heels and on ice, but without them they could tell she was short. The brunette was skinny too. She must've been an ice skater, although she certainly didn't talk like one.

"THIS FUCKING SUCKS!" the brunette girl angrily skated away from the older woman. The woman she left behind groaned and shook her head, following behind her slowly and sadly.

The younger girl got off first. She got off in such haste that she didn't bother to cover up the blades of her skates, and just walked as quickly as she could on them.

"I hate Hockey! It's just glorified fighting…bunch of goons!" the ice skater complained rather loudly to herself as she passed by some of the guys.

The brunette then accidently hit her shoulder against Jimmy's. Before Jim could say anything to her, she glared at him.

"What the hell are you looking at?" she clenched her teeth and stormed away.

Jim had a confused expression on his face. Seeing her up close, he definitely saw that she was the girl he met at the bar. He could tell by her eyes. When he first saw her blue eyes, he thought they were so pretty looking. Now, to him, they looked as cold as ice. It was Elizabeth, not Liz, but Elizabeth…he never caught her last name.

"I'm so sorry!" an older blonde woman interrupted Jim's thoughts. Then she walked quickly away following the angry younger woman and calling her name.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth come back!" he heard the older woman call.

The rest of the guys gradually got onto the ice to begin their practice. As they began doing warm ups, Herb and Craig stood on the ice by the bench going over drills for that day's practice.

"Hey did you hear about that crazy ice skater on the ice before us?" Bah asked Buzz.

"No what happened?" Buzz laughed.

"She was practicing and her time was up so Craig told her coach and she completely flipped out," Bah laughed, "I didn't know ice skaters knew curse words until I saw this broad."

"And it turns out that she was that girl that Jim wanted to hook up with at the bar," Phil informed the team, "What's her name? Elizabeth?"

The guys laughed and were stunned by the coincidence. A few found it funny that Phil neglected to mention that that same girl happened to completely blow him off. He probably didn't want to remember that part of the story.

"Guy, check this out," Silk nodded towards where Craig and Herb were standing. It looked like the older blonde woman that the ice skater was with earlier came back to talk to their coaches. The guys stopped talking to try to hear what they were saying.

"Hi. I'm Lorraine Donovan…Elizabeth's coach. I just wanted to apologize for her behavior before," the blonde introduced herself.

"I'm Craig Patrick, the assistant coach for the team," he replied, "Is she okay? I think she kind of freaked the guys out back there."

"Yeah well she can be temperamental at times, especially if things don't always go well at tournaments. We were in Quebec all last week for a tournament and she got fourth place. Ever since she's been a little bitter," Lorraine explained.

"I guess that's why we didn't see you guys last week. Maybe we should work out a schedule for ice times so this doesn't have to happen again," Craig offered.

"Yeah that would be great," the woman smiled, "I think scheduling times for her would be good. If not she'll stay here for as long as she wants. It's hard for her to understand that sometimes stuff doesn't work that way…"

The two coaches talked a little more and agreed on a time to meet at the rink after practice so they could organize a schedule for the rink times. Neither of them wanted this over-booking to happen again.

"I'm so sorry again for her actions," Lorraine tried, "Elizabeth's young. She's only seventeen and still has a lot to learn about manners."

"It's alright, seriously. She'll get over it," the assistant coach reassured her.

The blonde woman laughed, "You don't know her. Definitely easier said than done…"

Lorraine left Craig and the rest of the guys to practice on the ice. The people in charge would sort out all the scheduling stuff later that day. The guys didn't really think they had anything to worry about; it was one girl versus twenty six guys. The owner of the rink would definitely give the hockey team the advantage.

"So I guess you're girlfriend is underage," Cox laughed.

"You better cut ties with her," Rizzo warned his friend.

"If not then the next girlfriend you'll meet will be in prison," OC joked.

The whole team cracked up. Jimmy even let out a smile. The goalie wasn't used to being the butt of people's jokes, so this was a rare occasion. He knew they were only teasing anyways. He talked to that girl for only a few minutes at a bar. Come to think about it if she was underage then how did she get into that bar? Maybe she randomly left because she was afraid that he'd find out her age.

After practice ended most of the team wanted to go out to grab a bite to eat or go back to the dorms to get ready to go out later, except for Jimmy. Instead he decided to stick around for a bit and throw a ball against a wall in the hallway. It was an exercise to help train goalies and it helped him a lot at BU.

Jim drove OC and Silk in his car to practice this morning. His two teammates didn't want to wait around for him so Jim gave them his keys and OC promised to pick him up from the rink an hour later. The goalie didn't understand them. He knew that OC and Silk were great players and worked very hard in practice, but they didn't go the extra mile like he did. The way Jim saw it was that they were hundreds of miles away from home trying out for something that was probably the biggest thing in their lives up until that point. He wanted to ensure that he got onto this team, not just for himself but for his father and for the memory of his mom, and the only way he could guarantee himself a spot was going the distance.

His hour practice went okay. He wasn't as accurate as he was at BU, but that's because he was just getting back into his groove again. Also he found it hard to practice just him because he knew where he was throwing the ball. At BU he had a coach practice with him, but he hadn't asked anybody to do that here.

When he was finished he walked by Herb's office, where Coach, Craig and that lady Lorraine was making a schedule for ice times. Jim got outside and waited by the curb near the front entrance for OC to show up with his car. He looked down at his wrist watch.

"Late," Jimmy sighed to himself.

The goalie looked up from his watch and saw the brown haired ice skater from before walking towards the rink. She didn't even look at him, instead making sure her eyes didn't leave the rink sign. As she came closer and closer to him, Jim decided to speak up.

"Elizabeth?" Jim nodded to the girl as she was trying to walk by.

"What?" she stopped walking.

"Remember me? I'm Jimmy…we met at the bar," he tried to remind her, feeling a little awkward because he normally never did this kind of thing.

"I meet a lot of people in bars," she told him.

"I found out you were seventeen. You shouldn't even be allowed into bars!" Jim shot back.

"I'm cute and the bouncers at clubs like me," she rolled her eyes, "What the hell do you care?"

Jim shook his head in defeat, "You know what? Never mind. I just wanted to find out why you bailed the other night, but I suddenly stopped caring."

"You mean you wanted to know why someone would leave such a 'catch' like yourself. Jeez, for you that must be so hard to believe. I know your type," she put catch in air quotes, and then continued, "For your information, hun, I do remember meeting you at the bar. Me acting like I don't remember means I don't really want to remember. Sorry, you weren't that much of a catch…"

"You don't know anything about me," Jim sighed, trying very hard to hold back any more anger. When he grew up his mother taught him never to say anything mean to girls, even the bitchy ones.

"I know you were trying to pick me up from a bar. If I wanted a one night stand with you then I would've stuck around. Sorry you weren't that interesting…"

"He doesn't do minors. Not even cute ones," the pair heard a male voice interrupt their conversation.

They both turned their heads. Elizabeth didn't know who it was, but Jim saw his friend OC. OC was coming back to the rink to bring back Jimmy's car for him. He was walking right towards the two.

"Sorry I was a little late. I was caught up in something," OC smirked as he handed the goalie his keys, then he turned to Elizabeth, "Shouldn't you be in school or something?"

"It's four o'clock," the ice skater shrugged, "Shouldn't you be in speech therapy or something? You forgot your Rs."

"I don't really care about anything you say. If you're not old enough to vote than your opinion just doesn't really matter," OC retorted, "Come on, Jimmy, some of the guys are waiting."

"Who are the guys? Your boyfriends?"

"What are you seven?" OC asked.

"Let's get out of here," Jim tried to hold back smiling just yet.

The two hockey players turned around and started walking away. Jimmy then let the smile out and shouted, "See you around, Liz!"

"It's ELIZABETH!" she shrieked back.

"She apparently hates being called Liz," he laughed to OC, then intimidated her from when they first met, "Just Elizabeth"

"That's because she's an uptight bitch," OC smirked.

"You can say that again…"

**I hope you liked it! Please Review! I love them so much **** More reviews equal more motivation to write which means you get chapters quicker haha.**


	5. Under My Thumb

**LTJM: Thanks for reviewing! **

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: I'm glad you liked it! OC will have some funny lines in this chapter too!**

**Lulu: Thanks!**

**AN: Here's the latest chapter! I hope you all enjoy and I would like to thank those who reviewed last chapter. The title is a Rolling Stones song and pretty self explanatory once you read the chapter. **

**Chapter 5**

A couple of days into the second week of practice, the guys were getting more used to each other. They all started going out to eat more as a group and it was becoming less and less school and regional oriented. Proof of this was Phil, Bah, Mark, and OC all leaving together to meet some of the other guys for dinner. Two weeks ago none of them could imagine that. They all still weren't best friends for life yet, but those particular guys saw the other as cool so they didn't mind going out with them even if they weren't from the same school.

As they were walking down the hall another guy was walking in the opposite direction towards them. From a distance they couldn't recognize him because the team was the only guys on the floor. Once they got closer to each other, they saw it was an older guy. When Phil finally saw his face he instantly recognized him. The older guy and Phil with the guys in tow walked towards each other until they met up.

"Hey Phil!" the older guy smiled.

"Oh man, as I live in breath, Rich Slater," Phil and the older guy man-hugged each other.

"What's up, man?" he nodded back.

"I'm good. I'm trying out for the Olympic Hockey team," Verchota then began to introduce him to his friends, "Guys this is Rich Slater. He was my RA during my freshman year. Slater taught me everything I know about how to pick up women."

"That's not much, Phil," Bah teased.

The guys, sans Phil, laughed at Bah's joke. Rich laughed as well, "Yeah sometimes Phil puts his own spin on stuff but he still did pretty decent for a freshman."

"I don't believe that," Mark said quietly.

"It's true!" Rich tried, "Besides, over time since I was an RA at "the U" I've formulated a full-proof way to get any women to go to bed with you after the first date."

"Wow, really? How man?" Phil excitedly questioned.

"Alright, first you tell a girl how beautiful she is. Then you spin her around like Cinderella, make her feel special. After that you whisper something in her ear. Shit like, 'I'm so lucky to be going out with you' or bull like that. That's only the first five minutes and after that she's just eating out of your hands for the rest of the night," Rich explained with a cocky smile, "Then of course, you never need to call them after that."

"Has that worked for you before?" Bah asked.

"Three out of three times…this month. Of course, I did come up with this last February, so…" Rich snickered.

"You're a genius!" OC laughed with Rich, "I love this guy!"

"I'm glad you like my date, Jack," the guys' conversation was interrupted.

The five looked up to see Mallory just closing the door to her room. She must've just walked out when OC declared his admiration for Rich. The blonde walked towards them. The hockey players didn't move and watched their RA's and Rich's conversation unfold.

"Wow!" Rich was breathless, "You look gorgeous."

"Thanks," Mallory blushed at Rich, "Ready to go?"

Rich grabbed Mallory's hand, "Turn around. I want to see the full effect."

The blonde laughed nervously, "Okay…"

Rich held Mallory's hand up as she spun around. She really looked hot, wearing a white peasant top, jean shorts, and she let her feathered hair down. When she turned to face Rich again after her spin she was smiling.

"Alright, now I'm ready to go," Rich laughed, "Good to see you again, Verchota, and it was nice to meet you guys."

"Bye, guys. See you later," Mallory nodded to them without looking at any of them directly, she had her full attention set to Rich.

"Bye," the four hockey players murmured together in unison.

The couple walked away hand-in-hand and the guys watched them go down the hall. While they walked, Rich maneuvered his arm around Mallory's shoulder and leaned his head closer to her face. He was whispering something is her ear. Before they became completely out of sight, Rich turned his head around one last time to look back at the guys he was just talking to. He gave them a devious smirk and nodded back towards them. Then they were gone.

"Verchota, who the hell was that guy?" OC sounded slightly pissed off.

"OC, you just said…" Phil was cut off.

"I hate that guy!" OC exclaimed.

OC proceeded to walk away from his teammates and hurried off to be the first one to the car. He left the remaining guys confused.

"I wonder what that was all about," Mark thought out loud.

"He probably wanted to be the first one to do it with her this summer," Bah told him.

"I know Mallory. He definitely won't be the first. That ship has already sailed…" Phil replied.

**…**

A few hours later Jack was laying in his bed in his room reading Sports Illustrated and watching the baseball game on the background. He kept his door slightly ajar like the rest of his teammates because the guys usually came in and out of each others rooms. Then he saw a flash of long blonde hair pass by the door. The hockey player saw that the person who was passing by was wearing a peasant top and jean shorts on. OC knew from then that Mallory had returned.

Before he could even reach the door so he could go out to the hallway to "accidentally" run in to her, he heard he open and close her door. OC sighed and went back to his bed. Doing what he just did made him feel kind of pathetic. In Boston he wasn't like that, but things were different for him now.

Jack picked up his Sports Illustrated that he threw on the bed when he saw Mallory walking by. Just as he was about to finish his story he heard a song come on.

"_Under my thumb__  
__The girl who once had me down__  
__Under my thumb__  
__The girl who once pushed me around__"_

The song was coming from Mallory's room. She always played music at night to entertain the people on her floor. She played it loud so people could hear, but not too loud that people who wanted to sleep usually could. To most parents Mallory wasn't really the ideal RA to have with her drug and alcohol policies, but for all her shortcomings she had really good taste in music and what to play and how to play it. And that was just the way she liked it.

**…**

OC hated putting his glasses on. He used to wear them all the time in high school, but in college he got prescribed for contact lenses and never wanted to go back. Unfortunately for him his monthly prescription ran out so until he filled it he had to wear glasses. He shrugged as he watched himself put them on in the mirror.

The hockey player didn't have too much to complain about. It was the weekend and there was no game so the day was free to him. His only two chores were to get his new contacts and do his laundry. Rizzo, his roommate, told him that if his clothes were all over the place by the time he got back to the room than there would be hell to pay. OC didn't think much of that threat because to him Rizzo was like one of the nicest guys ever, but he didn't want to be a bad roommate so he decided to do his laundry first.

He picked up his clothes from the floor and put them all in his clothes sack, not separating lights and darks. When he got out to the hallway he wasn't surprised to see it almost deserted. The guys were all either out or sleeping in til mid-afternoon on one of their rare off days and the girls were all pretty local so they went home a lot. He walked down the stairs to the basement where the laundry room was figuring that no one would be there. He was wrong. There was one other person there and it was none other than his RA Mallory.

She was sitting in one of the chairs, with her hair in a messy bun and glasses on. So it turns out OC wasn't the only one! She was also reading a magazine that OC only heard because of his ex-girlfriend of called 'Teen Beat'.

"So 'Teen Beat', huh? How is John Travolta doing now a days?" the hockey player laughed.

Mallory slowly looked up and when she acknowledged his presence, she gave a light smile back, "Actually, it's my little brother's girlfriend's magazine. She let me borrow it."

"Well, lucky you."

OC sat down beside her in one of the chairs that was facing the dryer. She didn't look him in the eye, instead looking intently on one of the dryers that held her clothes.

"I didn't know you wore glasses," OC turned his body to face hers.

"I can say the same about you," Mallory looked up at him and smiled, "I only wear mine when I'm too lazy to put my contacts in."

"Yeah, my prescription ran out. So I need to wear mine until I can get to the drug store," OC explained, "I'm surprised I haven't seen you wear yours more often. You look good in them."

Mallory chuckled to herself, "Thanks. Try telling that to Mac. Right before I come down here he was teasing me about them."

"Well Mac's a dumb shit," OC said bluntly, "What's the deal with you guys anyways? One day you're fine, the next it's this."

The blonde girl sighed, "It's complicated. I'm sure you've probably heard that Mac and I used to date, but now it's just weird. I mean, we agreed on being friends and stuff but we don't really have a foundation for that because we went straight from introduction to you know…hooking up. I guess we're just trying to find a balance, although I don't like it when he says mean stuff for no reason."

"What did he say?"

"He said these glasses make me look like a grandmother," Mallory rolled her eyes.

"Well they are pretty big…" the hockey player mumbled.

"I'll tell you what I told him! John Lennon wears these type of glasses too, and he's pretty incredible," Mallory giggled, trying to ease out of what could be a tense situation.

"Oh yeah," OC smiled, "Lennon is awesome. How did Mac reply to that?"

"I don't know," she shook her head, "Something kinda lame. I don't really remember, Jack."

"Why do you call me Jack?"

"What is this twenty questions?" Mallory laughed nervously.

"Sorry," OC realized that this was more of an interrogation than a conversation, "I liked that song you played in your room last night, 'Under My Thumb'."

"Thanks," the blonde sighed, "I'm sorry I played it so loudly. I got home pretty late."

"Yeah kinda ironic, don't ya think?" OC laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well if you got home late than it must've gone well. But you played a song that's about a man controlling..."

Mallory cut him off, "It didn't go well. I got home late because I took public transit. It's a long story but that guy was a big jerk so I left. I listened to that song to remind me why I hate guys like that. I don't understand how you like him."

"I don't like him," OC told her.

"Oh no, I'm sorry! You 'love' him," the RA air quoted and emphasized the word love.

"That was before I knew he was going out with you!" OC tried to defend himself.

"Its fine," she shrugged, "I shouldn't be mad at you. You aren't him. Like whomever you want."

The buzzer went off for Mallory's dryer. She quickly got out of her seat and walked away from her conversation with OC to take her clothes out and fold them. OC was still waiting for his clothes in the washer. There was an awkward silence between them for a few minutes as Mallory was folding her clothes.

"You know you can leave and come back," Mallory said aloud as she was still folding her clothes on top of the dryers, "This isn't Boston. We won't like steal your stuff."

The hockey player chuckled, "I'll take my chances, thanks. Besides I won't be bored."

"You got a book or something?" Mallory was still folding her laundry.

"No but you're here. And you're far from boring," OC smirked.

Mallory silently laughed to herself and looked up from her laundry to her hall mate, "That's quite the line. Do you use that on all the girls?"

"No," he said quietly as he shook his head.

OC stood up and walked slowly towards his RA, who was still standing near the dryers folding her clothes. She noticed him coming over and turned around so her back was on the dryers. She let out a deep breath when he reached her. OC was standing less than a foot away from her.

"You can borrow my magazine if you want," she looked down to her feet.

"No thanks," he laughed, "I'm not really a 'Teen Beat' type of guy."

She giggled and looked up at him, "I didn't think so. But I was offering just in case."

OC suddenly brought his hand up and swept a stray hair that was in front of Mallory's face and tucked it behind her ear.

"Sorry about that…it was bugging me," OC explained.

"Its okay!" she smiled, "…but your hand is still on the side of my face."

"Oh Jeez," the hockey player immediately pulled his hand back and put it in his pocket.

"I wasn't complaining…," she laughed, "Jack, what did you mean before?"

"Huh?"

"When we were talking about Rich and you said you liked him before you knew he was going out with me…"

"Oh…well I don't know. I guess I just didn't want you to go out with him…"

"Why? You could tell even from talking to him for a few minutes that he would be a jerk?"

"Honestly I thought he was a moron…" OC said in his thick Boston-accent.

"'Mohon?'" Mallory giggled at his pronunciation.

"Hey!" he laughed, "You know how I feel about pretty girls making fun of my accent! But for you I'll let it slide. I actually kinda like it when you do it."

Mallory just laughed and shook her head. She figured it must've been another line. Boy, OC sure had a lot of lines up his sleeve.

"Seriously! Like the other day this obnoxious girl from the rink was making fun of my accent for no reason. I told her off though; she was as annoying as hell!" OC told her, but he didn't sound mad. He told it with a confident smile, almost as if he was bragging.

"That sucks! Was she pretty? You told me you hated when pretty girls say stuff about it…"

"She was alright," he looked into her eyes, "But the prettiest girl I've met so far in Minnesota has been making fun of my accent and I don't mind at all."

The pair starred at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say. Mallory let out a deep breath, as if she was about to say something. Then they heard voices coming from the stairwell. Neither could tell who was approaching but Mallory turned around and swept the rest of her laundry into her basket. OC stepped back. As the voices were growing closer, he turned to go back to one of the open seats but he was too late. The voices had showed up.

"Hey OC…Mal"

The blonde girl turned around with her laundry basket in her arms. She was standing behind OC, so she had to move her head to see who was there. She spoke cool and calmly, as if nothing was happening before they were interrupted.

"Hey Mac. Hey Mark," she greeted.

"I didn't know you wore glasses, OC," Mark said.

"Yeah, I need to get new contacts," OC explained.

"So does Mal. Isn't that convenient…" Mac sighed.

Before anyone could reply Mallory mediated, "Well this was pleasant! OC, if you want that record I could get it for you now. It's in my room."

"Uh…I don't know about my stuff," OC told her.

"Can you guys watch his clothes? He's from Boston so he's paranoid about stuff getting stolen," the blonde laughed, easing the awkwardness.

"Sure…" Mark nodded reluctantly.

"Come on, Jack," she pulled on OC's arm with her free hand.

Mallory smiled and OC nodded at his two teammates he left behind in the laundry room. Mallory let go of OC's arm and the two walked up the stairs in complete silence. When they got the lobby of the building, they broke the silence.

"Mallory…"

"You should go get your contacts," the blonde told him, "The drug store is right across the street."

"Yeah, okay," he nodded, "Look…"

"Don't worry about it," she put her hand up to the stop motion, "I'll see you later, Jack."

**Well I hope you enjoyed it! It would be really nice for me to know you enjoy it if you reviewed, hint hint! I don't need a NY Times Review, but maybe a simple thing to know I have readers on this planet haha.**


	6. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

**LTJM: Thank you! I'm happy you liked it! Hope you like this one too!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for reviewing! Unfortunately, OC won't be in this chapter. But OC will have an important storyline starting in a few chapters!**

**Lulu: Thanks!**

**AN: Here it is! I hope you all enjoy! A little explanation on the character Elizabeth, just in case any of you were wondering what she looked like I picture her looking like Jackie from "That 70's Show". The first chapter I introduce her in, she is actually wearing what Jackie wore to the club in 'That Disco Episode'. And side note: you should check out Vaughnloveralwaysandforev's new story "Waitin' On a Sunny Day". The first chapter came out and it sounds like it's going to be awesome! Last thing, this chapter is named after The Animals song, it's good and worth giving a listen. Anyways, enough with my rambling, I hope you enjoy! And remember to review after!**

**Chapter 6**

It was a rainy Tuesday night and most of the guys opted to stay in after practice. In Mark's room that he shared with Mac, he was hosting a small poker game with some of the other guys. Jim and Bah were already there. They were all sitting on the floor and waiting on Silk, but decided to start the game and deal him in later. They kept the door open so their teammate could just walk in and they wouldn't be disturbed from the game. When they heard someone walk in they all looked up expecting it to be Silk, but it was Mac with a smirk on his face. They all already knew why.

"Hey Mac, you excited about your date with Heather tonight?" Bah asked right after he looked up from the card game.

"Yeah it's become the talk of the floor. Everyone knows about it," Mark told his roommate.

"How did you manage to get a date with her? She's way out of your league," Jim laughed.

"She is pretty hot, isn't she?" Mac bragged to his teammates.

All the guys' general consensus was that Heather was the hottest girl on the floor. She looked exactly like Farah Fawcett. Unfortunately for them, she was taken so they didn't really have a chance. But when word got around that she broke up with her boyfriend, Mac was the one that was lucky enough to ask her out first. He asked her out right after he got back from practice that day. Heather broke up with her boyfriend the day before.

"Whatever man, just don't bring her back here. I refuse to sleep on the floor of someone else's room," Mark warned.

"Don't worry," Mac brushed him off, "Heather told me specifically that her roommate wouldn't be here tonight."

"You lucky bastard!" Bah laughed.

There was a light tap at the already open door. The guys looked up and saw Silky let himself in. He left the door open like it was.

"Hey, Mac, heard about your date with Heather tonight," Silk said as he entered the room, then he sat down on the floor where the poker game was, "Sorry I'm late, boys."

"Nah," Jim replied, "You didn't miss much."

"Who'd you hear about it from?" Mac asked Silk with a big grin on his face.

"Everyone," Silk joked, "Verchota can't believe you asked her before he did!"

"He shouldn't have procrastinated after practice then," Mac chuckled.

"So what does that mean about you and Mallory?" David asked.

"We're nothing," Mac told his teammates, "Verchota completely blew up that situation. We haven't been anything for a while and I really don't want anything more from her."

"That's not the vibe you gave off the other day in the laundry room," Mark teased his roommate. He didn't know if his roommate was being completely truthful or not, but it kind of annoyed him when he acted like the Mallory thing didn't happen at all.

"Ohhhhh," the three other guys playing poker all made a noise in unison.

"What vibe?" Mac was pissed his roommate brought that up in front of others.

"You acted so weird when you saw OC and Mallory together in the laundry room," Mark informed him.

"That wasn't because of Mallory. That was different…" Mac defended himself.

"How?" Silk asked in disbelief.

"It was _your_ teammate, OC," Mac looked directly at Silk and Jim and emphasized the 'your'.

"What do you mean?" Jimmy questioned.

"He wore glasses because she was," Mac said.

"You think so?" Mark asked.

"He only did that to try to impress Mallory," Mac complained.

"No," Jimmy shook his head calmly, "I played against him in high school and even then he had those big glasses on. It wasn't an act or anything."

"Still, he's been all over Mallory since day one. It's just obnoxious. Mal and I have been done for months and he's just doing it to piss me off," Mac told the guys.

"Well you sound pissed, so it's obviously working," Mark told his roommate.

"If OC wants my sloppy seconds he can go for it. I really don't give a shit about Mallory," Mac defended himself.

"Fuck you!" the guys' conversation was interrupted by a voice from the hallway.

They all looked out of the door and saw Mallory standing right outside. She must've just left her room that was right across from Mac and Mark's. The blonde looked furious, but instead of saying or doing anything more she stomped away.

"Oh shit!" Silk chuckled, "She looked pissed!"

"She'll get over it," Mac rolled his eyes, "We don't know what she heard anyways."

"Well she probably heard you call her sloppy seconds and that you didn't give a shit about her life," Mark nodded.

"Hey!" Mac went back into the defending mode, "Just because we all live on the same floor doesn't mean I have to care about her life. Come on, Jim, I've seen you around her. You don't like her either…"

"I don't," Jim agreed, "But I've never said it aloud, in a room with an open door right across from hers."

"You've got a point there," Mac chuckled, he didn't seem too distraught over hurting Mallory's feelings, "She'll get over it. I know her the best out of any of you guys. She doesn't have like feelings or anything…"

"Whatever you say," Bah sighed.

"I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back," Mac got off his bed to go to the communal bathroom. Mallory was the only one with her own bathroom because she was the RA and had the special room.

As soon as Robbie stepped out of the room he saw Heather walking down the hallway. He smiled as soon as he saw the beautiful blonde.

"Hey Heather, ready for our date tonight?" Mac asked loudly so she could hear from down the hallway and then nodded at the guys in his room, as if he was bragging again.

Heather then walked right up to him and slapped him across the face, "JERK!"

Mac was stunned and the guys in the room watching were speechless. Silk and Bah even dropped their jaws. Heather didn't say anything else to him and just walked past him down to the other end of the hall. Mac watched her go, and then to avoid eye contact with his teammates he looked down the hall where she was approaching him from. He then saw Mallory leaving Heather's room with an album in her hand. She closed the door behind her.

"GUESS SHE DIDN'T WANT MY SLOPPY SECONDS!" she yelled down the hall.

The blonde then turned to walk, the opposite direction of Heather, towards the elevators. Mac couldn't believe it. The hockey player figured that Mallory must've gotten into Heather's room asking for an album and then told her what he said.

"Guess she has some feelings after all…" Bah teased, now trying his hardest to restrain himself from laughing.

"Shut up!" Mac sighed right before walking away from his room to go to the bathroom.

He was humiliated.

…

The next day after practice the guys watched some film. After that most headed back to the dorms or out to eat. Jimmy opted out. Instead, he and Craig were going to toss the ball around a little to give Jimmy some extra practice.

He needed all the practice he could get. The goalie was having a hard time with this drill. It was strange because he did this a million times at BU, but now it was different. Jim tried his best to focus and concentrate on the ball. He figured his nerves about making the team caused him to mess up like this. This was bigger than BU, it was the Olympics. If he made the team, than the world would see him play.

But that wasn't what made Jimmy lay awake at night or caused him to do poorly in this drill. It was his mom. The last thing his mom asked for him was to be on this Olympic team, it was her dream for him. He was so nervous about letting her down. She passed away months ago from cancer, but his father and younger brother were still there watching. He wanted to make them proud and give them something to cheer about again. The Craig household had not been the same since Jim's mom died.

Jim and Craig did the drill for about a half an hour, before Craig had to go home. Craig asked Jim if he needed a ride, but Jim didn't let the guys borrow his car that day so he had it with him. He wanted to stay there just a little bit longer.

"You don't need to lock up," Craig told him, "There's going to be a pee-wee game on in a few hours."

"Alright," Jim nodded, "Thanks Craig. This extra practice really means a lot."

"No problem, Jimmy," the assistant coach told him, "You did well today."

"Not as good as usual…"

"It will get there. Don't worry about it or stress about it. You'll be just fine," Craig said.

He didn't mean just his game and Jim knew that. Everyone on the team knew about Jim's mom but never mentioned it or anything, mostly because they didn't really know what to say. He was at BU when it happened so his BU teammates knew the most about what he was going through, but no one will ever truly comprehend his loss nor will he really talk about it unless it is brought up by someone else first. But Jim appreciated the gesture that his assistant coach made.

"Thank you," Jim said quietly as he looked to his feet.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Game day!" Craig chuckled trying to lighten the mood.

"Later"

As soon as Craig walked away from his player, Jim turned around to continue doing the drill by himself. It was a little easier to do alone because he knew exactly where he was throwing the ball. He was catching all his tosses. After a few minutes, Jim wanted to challenge himself. The goalie got a second tennis ball out and threw both balls against the wall at the same time. One went way over his head and down to the other end of the hallway, very quickly, and the other hit the hall then went down and hit his foot.

Jim chuckled to himself, "I need to take this one step at a time."

He then leaned down to pick up the ball at his feet. He ignored the other ball that was way down at the other end of the hallway and started practicing with one ball again. He promised himself he would do the two tennis ball drill with Craig later.

Jim was starting to feel at ease with throwing just one ball again, when he heard a voice from the other end of the hallway. It was a high-pitched voice that he had heard before.

"EXCUSE ME! YOU LEFT YOUR BALL DOWN HERE!"

Jim shrugged and turned around to see that awful ice skater, Elizabeth. He never saw her skating skills or anything, but if her skills reflected how nice a person she was than she would probably be one of the worst skaters he's ever encountered. He hasn't seen her since their run in at the parking lot and her subsequent verbal spar with OC, but from everything he saw she wasn't a very pleasant person. He wished she was more laid back and classy like she was when they first met at the bar.

"Just leave it down there!" Jim told her in his normal voice.

"WHAT!" Elizabeth obviously didn't hear and was walking towards him down the hall. She held the ball up and kept it far away from her, as if it was the most disgusting thing she ever held.

"I said just leave it down there," the goalie sighed when the ice skater approached.

"You keep it! I don't want it!" she pushed the ball into his chest. She let go but he managed to catch it from hitting the ground with his free hand.

"Thanks," he said quietly, he really didn't mean it but he didn't know what else to say.

"Whatever just keep it down. I'm distressing right now and I just need to free-skate for a bit. I don't want your wall banging to distract me," the brunette explained.

"I don't care," Jim said kind of rudely, just wanting to end the conversation, "Just make sure to clean the ice after. There's going to be a pee-wee game in a few hours."

"So what? That's what parents are for," the teenaged girl sounded annoyed at his suggestion.

"You're a piece of work," he chuckled to himself, "Go home and do your homework."

"It's summer, douche bag. Fuck off," she shook her head angrily before walking away, and then grumbled to herself, "You don't know anything about me."

**So that was the chapter. What do you think? :)**


	7. A Walk in the Park

**Lulu: Thanks for reviewing!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thank you for the review! This next chapter will be funny too. It's pretty much all the guys until the end. Hope you enjoy.**

**LTJM: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like how I write the characters. Hearing that was a major compliment, thanks!**

**AN: It's kind of short but I promise the next chapter is going to be really long. This isn't named after a song or anything. I hope you like it. Don't forget to review afterwards!**

**Chapter 7**

A time honored tradition that almost all college students follow is something called Thirsty Thursday, which is college students getting hammered on a Thursday night to bring an early start to weekend. None of the guys on the team were college students anymore, but many still took the tradition close to heart. On this Thursday night a few of the guys decided to go out and celebrate their almost weekend.

Silk, OC, Ramsey, Mark, and Baker all went to a local bar to celebrate a home victory they had in a game against St. Cloud University. Most of the guys were pretty beat from the game so they stayed home to rest for practice the next day. But the guys that did go out didn't drink that much because they had practice in the morning, but they knew they were going to drink so they decided to walk to the bar. While hanging out they talked about sports, girls, and how Mallory slapped Mac two days earlier. Those who were there pretended to not know the reason because they didn't want OC to get mad and want to fight Mac…again.

The guys stayed at the bar for a few hours and decided to walk back in the early hours of Friday morning. They had practice in only a few hours so they decided to take a short cut through a park to get back to their dorm. It was a very well lighted park so they didn't think anything could actually happen. They were all walking through together until Silk had to separate from the group.

"I'll meet up with you guys. I gotta take a leak…" Silk excused himself to find a secluded bush.

"Ok man," OC nodded.

"So how much longer until we get back to the dorms?" Mark asked Baker and Ramsey, who played for Minnesota and were a lot more familiar with the area.

"About ten more minutes, give or take," Baker said.

"That's good. I want lots of time to rest up before practice tomorrow. Was Herb always this hard on you guys when he coached college?" Mark asked another question.

Before the two Minnesotans could answer, OC joined the conversation, "Magic, you should try my method. Just take periodic naps. It's the best thing ever."

"What's that?" Ramsey laughed.

"It's easy. I don't do it all the time, but it's what I live off of in the summer. I just take lots of few hour naps daily. Like imagine everyday is game day, so you take a nap when you normally would on those days, plus like five more!"

"So you're up at random hours of the night? Rizzo must love that!" Baker joked.

"Well I've been slowly weaning myself off it since joining the team. But I'm on withdrawal, I miss it!" OC chuckled.

A few minutes passed and there was still no sign of Silk from when he left to go to the bathroom.

"Wonder where Silk is…" Baker thought aloud.

"I really hope Silky didn't get like mugged and stabbed or anything," OC joked to the guys.

"This isn't Charlestown, OC. I'm sure he'll be just fine," Rammer teased his teammate.

"Was Charlestown really that bad?" Mark asked. He grew up in a nice middle-class Madison neighborhood, a place where hardly any crime happened. He couldn't imagine growing up in the type of neighborhood that OC sometimes talked about.

"Yeah. It was gritty as hell…but I love that place," OC thought about home, "It builds character. But I'm not talking about that part of Boston. I was thinking of Boston Common. At this time of night that type of shit happens to people walking alone all the time."

"St. Paul's a lot different than Boston. Like we have lights every five feet," Baker laughed.

"Whatever," OC shrugged, "If we find Silky dead in a ditch somewhere I'm not telling Herb."

"I think Herb would be happy. That means there's less pressure on him for deciding the final twenty guys," Ramsey kidded.

The guys were all laughing at Ramsey's joke and walking forward through the park. Then suddenly Mark felt someone violently grab him. He stopped and couldn't move. His teammates all stopped and looked at what was happening. Mark didn't know what to do, he had never been in this type of situation before. He froze.

"Give me your money!" he heard a familiar voice growl in his ear.

Mark then saw all his teammates begin laughing again and suddenly whoever grabbed him let him go. The hockey player turned around and saw it was Silky who got him. Silk had a big goofy grin on his face.

"Very funny, man," Johnson tried to play it cool, not showing his teammates how scared he actually was.

"It builds character," Baker requoted OC's earlier statement.

"I just hoped you wiped your hands off before…" Mark said.

"I didn't need to go. It was a prank all along," Silk reassured his line mate.

"Well, that's a relief," Mark sighed, "Where were you then?"

"I was just following you guys but at a distance so you didn't see me," Silk explained, "Couldn't have done it without the help of OC."

OC and Silk high fived and the three other guys just laughed.

"If you put as much effort into hockey as you do pulling pranks, OC, then you wouldn't need to worry about your spot," Mark teased.

"Oooohhhh," all the guys laughed, stunned that Mark would sink that low. OC had a good sense of humor though and he was laughing along with the rest of the guys.

"That a' boy, Magic," OC snorted as he patted Mark on the shoulder.

"Whatever. Let's just get outta here," Mark sighed.

The small group of guys kept walking and chattering through the lighted path of the park. They thought they were the only ones there in the middle of the night on a weekday, but when they were almost near the end of the path they spotted a guy and a girl together on the ground.

"Hey, check out that couple making out!" Ramsey pointed at them and said in a hushed laugh.

Silk slapped his hand down, "You're not supposed to point at people!"

The group of guys was moving slower as they were near the couple. They couldn't see much of what was going on but they saw two distinct figures making out where they thought would be a less lit area. They couldn't have looked at them for more than two seconds when they decided to walk quicker to get away. But before they could move the couple suddenly stopped making out.

"I think someone is watching us," they heard the girl whisper.

The girl turned her head and gasped. She quickly got off the guy and stayed on the ground. The guy she was with looked older and laid their lazily. When the guys saw who it was they recognized her face.

"Elizabeth?" OC was surprised.

"Hey guys," she laughed in a surprisingly nonchalant tone, even having a smile on her face.

"Babe, do you know these guys?" the guy she was with asked. None of the guys knew who it was.

"Yeah," she nodded, "Those are the idiots who took my ice time!"

"Oh," the guy nodded, not seeming to care.

"Why we you guys watching? Pervs!" the ice skater giggled.

"We were just walkin' through," Mark tried to explain.

"Whatever," the brunette shrugged, "I need to find my flip flops. Chris, let's get out of here."

"Are you guys drunk right now?" Baker questioned. They seemed totally normal about the situation, which was strange, and that caused him to wonder that.

"No," Elizabeth laughed, "We haven't drank or smoked tonight. We're just….living. Why do you think that?"

"Because this is the first time I've talked to you without you being a bitch," OC told her bluntly.

"I'm only a bitch when I'm at the rink. And I'm only a bitch at the rink because you stole my ice time!," Elizabeth exclaimed, she went from happy to pissed so rapidly that it caught everyone there off guard.

She looked on the ground and found her flip flops laying a few feet away from her. Her purse was behind her. The guy she was with got up first. He rolled his eyes and glared the guys a nasty glare. Not just any mean look, but the look that causes many guys to feel guilty, he gave them the "you just cock blocked me" look. The guys didn't speak after seeing that. It was bro-code. They knew what they had done. Elizabeth didn't get up at first and raised her hand up for her partner's assistance. It took him a second but he realized what she was doing and helped her up. She gathered her belongings and they brushed themselves off.

"See you tomorrow, jerks!" she shrugged and cut through them.

She walked angrily away and the guy followed behind slowly, "Thanks a lot, douche bags!"

Once the pair left, the guys all exchanged looks. They didn't know what to say. One minute they're joking around in the park and the next they walk in on this.

"Did that just happen?" Ramsey laughed.

"Yeah!" OC cracked up, "I don't believe it!"

"I wonder how old that guy was. He looked like he was like twenty-five," Mark wondered aloud.

"I think we did him a favor. She's a bitch and he probably wouldn't want to go too far with that. And she's seventeen and she's the type who would call the cops for statutory like the very next day," Silk said.

"Let's get out of here," Baker tried to brush this off, "This park is permanently tainted for me now!"

The guys all began walking again. They were only five minutes away from the dorms. The big topic of conversation was what they just witnessed, what they would do when they see her tomorrow, and how much they thought Jimmy would love hearing their story.

**So did you like it? Let me know your thoughts **


	8. One Fine Day

**LTJM: Thanks for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for the review. This chapter has some of its funny parts, but also some drama too. I hope you enjoy.**

**AN: I hope you all like this chapter. It's my first really long chapter for this story. I've had this one in my head for a while, when I first started planning this story out. I'm hoping this explains some stuff that I wrote in previous chapters. I've planned this story out a lot and I write everything people say and their thoughts and their reactions to stuff for a reason. This chapter might explain some stuff and set up some stuff to come. I really hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 8**

"And it's now the bottom of the third…"

Rizzo was lying in his bed on a lazy Saturday afternoon drinking a beer and watching the baseball game. A lot of his teammates were out but he slept in too late and woke up after they left for lunch. Rizzo didn't mind though. He just wanted a lazy day before the team leaves on Monday for a long bus trip to Ohio, where they are scheduled to play some games.

_Knock, Knock, Knock_

Rizzo perked his head up from the game and looked towards the door. He put his beer down at his bedside table and got up. He opened the door to find Mallory standing there with beer cans all in her hair. It looked like she was using them for curlers. She was wearing jean shorts and a plain tee shirt. Rizzo gave her a confused look. Why would she use beer cans as curlers?

"Hey Rizzo," the RA said with a smile, acting like she looked completely normal, "Is Jack here?"

"No, he went out with some of the other guys," Rizzo shook his head.

Mallory's forehead squinched up and she replied in a nervous tone, "Ok…thanks…"

Mallory turned around and began walking away when Rizzo closed the door. About ten seconds later Rizzo heard a knock on his door again. He just got back to his bed when he heard the knock so he walked back over to the door. He opened it to find Mallory again at the door. She had a big grin on her face and her eyes were so wide it was as if they were almost popping out of her face.

"Rizzo! You're a man!" she exclaimed as she pointed at him with both her index fingers.

"Does that really need clarification?" Rizzo chuckled uneasily.

"Yeah! I mean no! I really need your help with something!" she started poking him in the chest with her right index finger.

Rizzo grabbed her finger to stop him from poking him anymore, "Can you take it easy?"

"Sorry!" she snorted, "Listen, I need your help!"

"With what?" Rizzo sighed; he was getting really into the baseball game. He didn't want it to take long.

"My friend Lynn is getting married today and her mom is crazy and won't let me go unless I have a date. But my date was a friend of mine and he just called and bailed to go to some freakin' Liberace concert. So I came here to ask OC to take me, but I can't because he's not here, so I'm wondering if you would take me?" Mallory spoke very quickly trying to explain the story.

"Well OC will be back in like an hour or two…"

"I can't wait that long! I need to leave in fifteen minutes! Will you please take me? She's one of my oldest friends!" the blonde tried with pleading eyes, "I'll even drive! I know you don't have a car."

"I don't know…" the hockey player replied. He really didn't want to go out. Today was supposed to be his lazy day, "…I've got the game on and later I'm…"

"It has an open bar and I'll pay you twenty bucks to take me!" she interrupted him with a tempting offer.

"Ok, so I'll be ready in ten minutes. Want me to come get you or will you come here so we can leave?" Rizzo quickly changed his mind, not knowing whether it was the free alcohol or the cash that finally convinced him to go. When he was talking he actually sounded upbeat about going.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" her face lit up, "I've gotta hurry and finish getting ready! I'll come to you in ten minutes! I just gotta take out my curls!"

Mallory quickly ran towards her room only a few rooms down the hall. Rizzo didn't watch her go. He closed the door to get ready.

"She's gonna need to do a lot more than that," Rizzo murmured to himself, replying to the comment Mallory just made.

Fifteen minutes later Rizzo heard Mallory knocking at the door. He was wearing a suit. The one good thing about being a hockey player is that he had a lot of dress shirts and pants. He opened the door and was taken aback by his RA's appearance. She looked beautiful. She was wearing a short red dress with light sleeves. The beer cans in her hair were out and she had the Farah flip.

'That's the reason for the beer cans,' Rizzo thought to himself.

"Hey Riz. Lookin'good!" Mallory laughed, "Ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah," Rizzo didn't really know what to say. He couldn't stop staring.

Mallory began walking away but Rizzo kept standing in his doorway. Mallory only went a few steps until she realized Rizzo wasn't walking behind her. She turned her head and saw Rizzo just standing there, staring at her. She blushed in embarrassment.

"You coming?" she tried to laugh the awkward moment off.

"What? Yeah. Yeah, let's go," Rizzo finally snapped out of it. He closed the door and the pair walked together out of the building.

The drive to Mallory's town wasn't very long. It was about a thirty minute car ride. But it looked like the type of place that was hours away from the bustling Twin Cities. Mallory was from a small town called Moose River Falls. Its population was only about twenty-five hundred and it had a quaint 1950s feel to it.

Driving to the church, Rizzo looked out the window. He was totally fascinated. Everyone seemed to know everyone. People were talking on the sidewalks, children were playing in the playground, and even old men were playing checkers outside of little shops. Rizzo was a city boy and he couldn't imagine someone growing up in a town like this, especially Mallory.

Mallory parked on the street across the street from the church and right next to the town square, where it appeared that the reception would be held. Getting out of the car, Rizzo took a deep breath and looked all around. He was taking the setting all in. He looked mostly at the town square. There were tables everywhere and in the middle of it all was a gazebo, where the wedding cake was sitting.

"Rizzo," Mallory clutched his arm, "We're running late. We gotta get into the church!"

Mallory didn't let go of Rizzo's arm and practically dragged him to the church. She seemed nervous about arriving not on time. Luckily for them the ceremony hadn't started yet so the two managed to sneak in and sit at a pew in the back.

The ceremony was short and sweet. After it was over everyone proceeded outside and across the street to the town square where the reception was being held. Mallory and Rizzo sat at a table and decided to wait there until the buffet line settled down a bit.

"That was a nice service," Rizzo told her.

"Yeah. Lynn is great. I'm really happy for her," Mallory smiled.

"I'm starving though. I hope this Moose River Falls crew goes quickly through the buffet. I wanna eat," Rizzo joked.

"Don't worry. We all love food. We'll get through that line quickly. But don't try to fight over the last piece of cake. We love cake," Mallory laughed.

"Noted," Rizzo chuckled.

The couple's conversation was then interrupted by an older woman walking up to them. She looked to be in her mid-forties.

"Mallory! You look beautiful," the woman smiled.

"Thanks. It's great to see you Mrs. Peters," Mallory smiled.

"Who's your date? I thought you were going with Bobby," the older lady asked.

"Bobby is a long story," the blonde sighed, "This is Mike. He's a friend of mine from school."

"Awww. That's too bad!" Mrs. Peters groaned.

"Yeah. But worked out just fine," Mallory told her.

"That's good. I gotta go now but I just wanted to say that you look more and more like your mother everyday," the woman said, "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," Mallory gave a small smile.

The woman patted Mallory's shoulder and walked away.

"Who was that?" Rizzo asked.

"Just a family friend," the blonde explained.

"Are your parents here?" Rizzo looked around, "It seems like the whole town is here."

"What?" Mallory seemed to be ignoring Rizzo for her own train of thought, "Oh…no. No they aren't. Do you wanna dance?"

Rizzo smiled at her, "Sure."

The pair got up and walked together towards the designated dance area where the other couples were. It was a slow song so Rizzo placed his hand on Mallory's lower back. In return she put her hand on his shoulder and they held hands. They began to dance to the music.

"Wow," Mallory giggled, "You're a good dancer!"

"Well I thought you already knew that," Rizzo chuckled.

"How?"

"That night in the Domino Room last month," Rizzo reminded her.

"Oh yeah!" she smiled, "I'm so sorry! I just blanked on that for a moment. I swear sometimes I'm the biggest scatterbrain!"

"It's alright. It was a while ago. Wasn't that the night of Lynn's bachelorette party?"

"Yes! Yes it was," Mallory nodded, "You have a better memory than I do!"

"Well hockey players have long memories," Rizzo laughed, "At least your dad isn't here or I'm afraid he'd kill me."

"If I were you I would be more afraid of my little brother Randy," the blonde told him, "He just graduated high school but he's tough. He's a hockey player too."

"Cool," Rizzo smiled, "So you never told me why your parents aren't here…"

"Oh," Mallory rolled her eyes, "Well, my mom is a history buff so she's on vacation at Mount Rushmore."

"That's cool. I've always wanted to go there!" Rizzo told her, "Is your dad with her?"

"No," Mallory said softly as she shook her head, "He's passed away…"

"What? Jeez, Mallory. I'm so sorry!" Rizzo felt really badly, he didn't mean to bring something like that up. None of the guys on the floor knew about it, at least he thought.

"Yeah," Mallory stopped dancing and looked to her feet, "Can we sit down?"

"Sure."

Rizzo put his hand on her lower back and led her off the dance floor. They sat down at an empty table. After a moment of silence Mallory spoke up.

"Sorry about that," Mallory sighed, "It just seemed kinda awkward to dance after dropping that bomb."

"Its okay!" he reassured her.

Mallory gave a light smile, "Thanks. It happened so long ago. I was nine and he died in Vietnam. He was drafted. I've accepted his death and everything. I'm fine! I just didn't want to dance when I talked about it."

"Are you sure you're alright?" he could sense his RA's insincere tone.

"Yeah," Mallory nodded and smiled at her date, "Seriously. I've come to terms with it long ago, I had to stay strong for my mom and little brother. Ever since then I've been very close to my family and I think I've grown in to a stronger person."

"Good for you," Rizzo told her, "Now, if only Jimmy felt the same way…"

"Huh?"

"Hey Mal," they heard a voice from behind him, interrupting their conversation.

The pair turned their heads. Rizzo recognized him. It was Randy, Mallory's brother. He saw Randy on the day he moved in. He looked a lot different now because he had a suit on and a beer in his hand. There was a girl with him but he didn't recognize her. Mallory got up to greet them. Rizzo saw her give them both a hug. She must've forgotten what Rizzo just said. He didn't mean it, it just kind of blurted out. Luckily for Rizzo, Randy came when he did.

"Rizzo, this is my brother Randy and his girlfriend Veronica," Mallory introduced them.

"Nice to meet ya," Rizzo shook got up and shook both their hands.

"What happened to Bobby?" Randy asked.

"He got tickets to a Liberace concert…" Mallory sighed, "Rizzo is my fill-in date."

The four of them sat down at the table. Mallory sat between Rizzo and her brother.

"I hear you play hockey," Rizzo looked at Randy.

"Yeah," the younger guy nodded, "Are you one of the hockey players on Mallory's floor? From Herb Brooks's Olympic team?"

"Sure am," Rizzo replied.

"Wow," Randy was impressed. Everyone in Minnesota knew who Herb Brooks is and how good of a coach he was.

"Are you playing for college next year?" Rizzo questioned.

"Nah," Randy shook his head, "I'm playing for Canadian Juniors. It gives me a better chance of making the NHL."

"I think he's being stupid," Mallory added her two cents.

"Come on, Mal, you know that it's true. Most college players are just gracious draft picks. They aren't taken seriously…" Randy told her.

"Whatever," the blonde shrugged.

"He'll be fine, Mallory. I'll take care of him. Don't worry!" Veronica tried.

"You're going with him?" Rizzo was surprised.

"Yeah," Randy nodded, putting his arm around his girlfriend.

"We've been dating for three years. I'm definitely going with him," she looked up at him and smiled.

"I don't mind that," Mallory looked at Rizzo, then turned her head towards her brother, "I just wish he went to college."

"If this doesn't work out than I'll work my way through college. I told you that, Mal," Randy tried to reassure his older sister.

"So Randy, you must be excited to have the house to yourself for the whole week with your mom out of town," Rizzo chuckled, wanting to change subjects to something lighter.

"Yeah," Randy looked at Mallory instead of Rizzo and he took a sip of his beer.

Rizzo got up, "I'll be right back. I need to go to the bathroom."

Rizzo left his table and went to the diner where he was told that wedding guests could go to the bathroom. He was happily surprised with this small town. He couldn't believe that Mallory grew up here. She seemed like the big city type. He pictured her being from Minneapolis, not Moose River Falls. When Rizzo arrived back outside, he walked back towards the table and saw Mallory and Randy sitting and fighting there. Not wanting to get involved, he just stood and watched. After a minute Randy got up and angrily walked away with his girlfriend walking not too far behind. Rizzo then approached Mallory at the table, who was taking a sip of her beer.

"Hey," Rizzo interrupted her train of thought, "Is everything okay here?"

"Yeah," Mallory said quickly then looked up at him, "He's just pissed because I'm crashing at the house tonight after I drop you off. He wanted to be alone with Veronica."

"He'll get over it," Rizzo tried to cheer her up.

"I know," she replied, "Do you want to take some shots?"

"Sure," the hockey player grinned.

"I'll go get them," Mallory got up quickly.

In what seemed like a second Mallory arrived back to the table with a big tray full of shots. She set them down in front of her seat and Rizzo, and then she sat down herself. Rizzo was a little overwhelmed by the site. He figured that they would only take a couple, and Mallory brought the tray so they wouldn't have to keep getting up after each one. She picked up a shot and handed it to her date. Then she picked one up for herself. They tapped their glasses and took the shots in unison.

"I don't feel a thing," Mallory said.

"Me neither," Rizzo agreed.

"Let's take some more…"

A few hours and many shots later the reception came to a close. Mallory and Rizzo never kept count of how much alcohol they consumed that night but they both knew one thing, it was a lot. They both decided to walk to Mallory's house and Rizzo could just crash on the couch. Luckily for them the town center wasn't too far away from Mallory's childhood home and it only took them about fifteen minutes to get there.

When they got there the doors were locked and all the lights were off. It took Mallory a couple of minutes to rummage through her purse to find her keys. She was so drunk she could hardly see straight. She eventually found them and unlocked the door.

"Lucy! I'm home!" she announced rather loudly as she turned on the light.

Rizzo cracked up at her joke, "I guess Randy isn't here!"

"Thank God!" Mallory giggled, "I did not want to walk in on him having sex with Veronica."

Rizzo and Mallory both stumbled further into the house and Rizzo closed the door. Neither of them could walk straight. They went into the living room and Mallory fell onto the couch. Rizzo plumped himself on the couch right next to her.

"Well today was fun!" Mallory snorted.

"Yeah," Rizzo agreed, "Thanks for inviting me!"

"No!" Mallory sounded like a five year old, "Thank you for coming! Did I already thank you for that?"

"About a million times already," Rizzo chuckled.

"Well, thanks again," Mallory gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You're welcome," Rizzo gave her a light kiss back, on the lips. She kissed back.

The two separated and looked at each other for a moment.

"I'm sorry!" Mallory tried but didn't sound too sincere due to how intoxicated she was, "I'm a horny drunk!"

"Me too!" Rizzo laughed.

"Okay then…"

Mallory then grabbed his face and kissed him hard. He kissed back with the same amount of force. The blonde proceeded to get up.

"Let's go to my room," she insisted.

"Okay," he began walking away but realized that he didn't know where her room was.

Mallory grabbed his hand, "I'll lead you."

Mallory locked the door and turned off the lights in her house. The two walked in the darkness towards her bedroom. Rizzo was impressed by how easily she could do it. She must've definitely done that before in her teenage years when sneaking back into her house after a late night.

As they were walking to Mallory's room, she began kissing the hockey players neck. Rizzo moved his hands up her back and down her dress, unhooking her bra. Mallory kissed up Rizzo's neck and ended up at his face and the two began making out again as they moved closer to Mallory's door. She pushed Rizzo against the door and opened the door. They both got inside and Mallory kicked the door closed. They did all of this without stopping for a breath.  
**…**

Blagh

Rizzo fluttered his eyes open and took a deep breath. His head was throbbing. He looked around and didn't know where he was. He wasn't dressed and couldn't even see where his clothes were. He was trying to figure out how he ended up here when he heard the sound that woke him up.

Blagh

"Fuck my life," he heard a girl's voice groan.

Memories for last night began flashing back in Rizzo's mind. He wasn't in just any girl's bed. This was Mallory's bed. They must've had more shots than they realized. Rizzo then heard the toilet flush and the sink faucet running. Less than a minute later he heard Mallory's heavy footsteps coming back towards her room. The blonde walked in with Rizzo's dress shirt on and her hand on her temple.

"Oh…you're up," Mallory sighed, "If you need to vomit the bathroom is down the hall and to the left."

"I'm fine," Rizzo shook his head.

Mallory looked down at the floor and saw Rizzo's pants at the foot of her bed. She walked over and picked them up.

"Here are your pants," she tossed them to Rizzo, who was still lying naked under the covers, "I think your boxers are in there too."

"Thanks," he said unenthusiastically.

"Sorry about the shirt. It was the first thing I could find. I didn't want to walk around naked just in case my brother was here or something," Mallory explained.

"It's okay," Rizzo said softly, he didn't really care.

"Okay, so, uh, how about I get some clothes out of my drawers and change in the bathroom and you change in here. And I'll bring your shirt back to you when I'm done in the bathroom. Then, I don't know, we can go out to eat or something. You know, sober up a bit," the blonde suggested.

"Sure," he shrugged. He was confused why she didn't take his shirt off right there since he already saw her naked, but she seemed very weirded out by that idea.

Mallory went to her dresser and took out the very first thing she could find. She then walked quickly out of the room and closed the door behind her. Rizzo finally got up and shook his head and stretched out. It didn't take him very long to put his pants and undershirt on. Rizzo sat on Mallory's bed, waiting for her return. She came back a few minutes later.

"Here's your shirt," she handed it over to him, "Ready to go?"

She looked like a hot mess, like the day Rizzo met her. Her hair was in a messy bun and her make-up was still kind of on from the night before. Her clothes were fresh though, so she didn't look completely terrible.

"Yeah," Rizzo nodded.

The pair left Mallory's house and walked down to pick up the girl's car. They then drove to the local diner, which was only a few minutes away. Everything in that town was so close to each other. They didn't talk at all on the way. Neither really knew what to say. When they got to the diner, it was nearly empty, so they were immediately seated.

"What's good at this place?" Rizzo asked Mallory while reading his menu.

"Everything," she replied with a slight smile.

"That doesn't narrow it down much," Rizzo chuckled.

The waitress then came to their table and they both ordered large cups of coffee and greasy food. Mallory already felt some of the repercussions from last night and Rizzo knew they were probably going to haunt him sooner or later.

"So when do your finals start?" Rizzo asked after the waitress left.

"In two weeks," Mallory answered, "So all next week the girls on the floor are going to be really stressed and not want to talk to you guys. You should all just steer clear."

"That's okay. We'll be in Ohio for half the week anyways," Rizzo replied, "After that are the girls moving out?"

"Yeah," the RA replied, "I know all you guys will be bummed."

"It's alright as long as we have an awesome party before they go," Riz laughed.

"There probably will be," Mallory said.

Then came the awkward silence. The two sat and looked at each other. They were all done with small talk and knew that they had to talk about last night. It was unavoidable. It wasn't the typical one night stand because they had to see each other every day. Mallory just wanted to forget it ever happened. Rizzo was a nice guy and all, but he just wasn't what she was looking for. She wanted Rizzo to know that too. The blonde hoped that the hockey player felt the same way she did about this but she didn't know him that well. She didn't know what he was looking for, if he was the long term relationship type of guy or more of the one night stander.

"Mallory…" Rizzo cut the girl out of her train of thought.

"Uh huh," she shuttered, hoping he wasn't the relationship guy.

"I, uh, think we should keep this between ourselves, last night I mean," Rizzo suggested.

"Yes!" the blonde sighed in relief, "I mean, yeah, that would be a great idea!"

"I'm glad we're on the same page," Rizzo gave her a crooked smile.

The waitress came to the table with coffee for Rizzo and Mallory. The diner wasn't very crowded so the waitress told them that their food should be coming very soon. Both smiled and thanked the waitress. Once she left, they turned back to their discussions about the previous evening.

"I forgot how much fun it was," Mallory took a sip of her coffee.

"What?" Rizzo was confused.

"Sex," she smiled lightly, "That was my first time…in a while."

"Since when?" Rizzo was interested. He was really taken aback by this, from what a lot of the Minnesota guys told him she got around.

"Since December, with Mac. It's August now so I guess that makes that nine months," she looked up trying to count the months in her head.

"Wow," Rizzo breathed.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just, uh, not many people surprise me," he smiled at her, reassuring that it was nothing bad.

"Okay…" she said softly in a confused tone.

"I need to go to the bathroom…," Rizzo groaned.

"One of the beauties of being hung-over!" Mallory laughed.

Rizzo excused himself from the table. While Mallory sat alone, she thought a lot about last night. She couldn't believe that she and Rizzo were so drunk that they did it. She was more embarrassed that she said she was a horny drunk. At least Rizzo was cool about it, and he wanted to keep their whole night under wraps too.

'Why would he want that?' Mallory thought to herself as the food arrived to the table.

All guys usually gloat after having a one night stand, and that's all they agreed it would be. Why did Rizzo want to hide this? Mallory waited alone with her thoughts and food on the table for Rizzo to come back. She didn't have to wait to long. As soon as he arrived to the table she began her interrogation.

"Why do you want me to keep this secret?" she greeted him back to the table.

"I thought you wanted this to be kept quiet too," Rizzo sat down across from her.

"I do. But I know guys, you brag all the time about who you sleep with…"

"Well maybe I'm different," Rizzo tried.

"You're not that special, Riz," Mallory said coolly.

The hockey player took a deep breath, "I don't want the team to know."

"Why?" his RA asked, "Was I like…bad?"

"No," the hockey player shook his head, "You were fine…I mean, you were good."

"Then what?" Mallory was forceful.

"I…" Rizzo took a deep breath, "I got a girl back home in Boston. We're engaged."

"Oh," Mallory looked down, unsure how to respond.

"I mean, we're on a break right now, technically. But we've been talking almost everyday. The guys all know about her. On the phone we've been talking about getting married when I get home…"

"What's her name?" the blonde looked up.

"Donna," he told her.

"Ok," she said softly, "Thanks for letting me know."

"I'm sorry," he tried. He could tell she felt bad.

"No, it's okay. I'm just a little taken aback, that's all," she took a bite of her food, not looking at him.

"Thanks for being so cool about this," Rizzo sighed, "Why didn't you want the guys to know? Is it because of OC?"

"Not at all," she shook her head and laughed, "I don't make decisions based on guys. Especially guys I'm not even seeing."

"Good. It's good that you aren't really wrapped up on him. You should just steer clear of him," Rizzo warned, "I wish I told you sooner but I've only really seen you when OC has been there."

"Look, I know he's a player. And I know you feel bad about last night and everything. But I'm fine. You don't need to protect me."

"It's not that at all," he told her, "He's not a player."

"Okay," she rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"Seriously," Rizzo took a bite of his bacon, "He had this serious girlfriend, Jessica, for three years. They just broke up before he went to Colorado for tryouts. He doesn't talk about her but I can tell he's not over her. Ever since coming here he's acted like a player with every girl he's talked to. He's just looking for a rebound and nothing more because he's trying to forget about Jessica. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you but I thought you should know."

"Oh," she looked down and looked at her food again, "Okay then."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," her forehead was squinched, "I wasn't that serious about him anyways."

"Good," Rizzo smiled, believing her, "Wanna start actually eating? We should get going soon…"

"Yeah," she nodded as Mallory took a bite from her food, "Let's just finish up first."

The pair ate the breakfasts quickly and in silence. Both of them just wanted to get back to the U at that point. Once they were done and paid they started the half an hour drive back to the Twin Cities.

By the time Rizzo and Mallory got back to their residence hall it was early afternoon. It was already getting really hot so Rizzo loosened his tie and took off his sports jacket as he was walking into the building. When they got up to their floor they walked down the hall together until Rizzo reached his door.

"Later, Riz," Mallory said her goodbye as Rizzo took his key out of his pocket.

"Bye Mallory," Rizzo nodded back.

Rizzo entered his room and found his roommate OC hanging out with Silky and Phil. They all greeted him rather enthusiastically.

"Hey!" the hockey players hooted.

"Hi," Rizzo chuckled back.

"And why were you out all night?" Silk questioned.

"Some of the girls said they saw you go off with Mal. What were you two crazy kids doing?" Phil grinned.

"Nothing," Rizzo shook her head, "She paid me twenty to take her to her friend's wedding cuz her date bailed."

"Then why did you just get back now?" OC laughed.

"We were drinking. We thought it would be safer to not drive back. I stayed on the couch," Rizzo lied, "So did Donna call?"

"Seriously?" Phil groaned.

"I knew they wouldn't do it! Pay up Verchota," Silk laid his hand flat in front of Phil, they must've made a bet.

"Damn it!" Phil got his wallet out of his pocket.

"Well now that that's out, we're gonna leave. Later."

"Yeah she did," OC answered his roommate's question as Phil and Silky left, "But I didn't tell her what you were doing."

"Thanks," Rizzo nodded, "I owe you one."

Meanwhile, when Mallory got back to her room she immediately went into her bathroom. She just wanted to shower. She felt so dirty and just wanted to wash last night off her completely. The blonde shut the door to her bathroom door and turned the shower on. Mallory undressed and got in the shower.

As she put her hair under the faucet she began thinking back to her conversation with Rizzo that morning at the diner. Why would he cheat on his fiancé? Was he really that drunk? She felt so stupid. She was so happy that it was_ just _a one night stand and all but he used Mallory to cheat on his fiancé. How did he really see her? How did the guys in general see her? Did OC just want to use her to get over Jessica?

She began to break down right there in the shower. Her legs became weak and she sat down with the water still running right above her. Luckily for her she was in the shower so no one could hear her. When she got emotional she never liked doing it publically, she was a pretty private person.

"Oh God," she cried, "What have I done?"

**That was it. I hope you liked it. Please review! I spent a lot of time on this chapter and it's my first big chapter for this story! It would mean a lot if you guys reviewed because it would really let me know that you all are reading it and it would inspire me to write!**


	9. Put On the Red Light

**LTJM: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked my last chapter. The Mallory and Rizzo thing won't be discussed too much in this next chapter, but it will always be a looming factor for the rest of the story!**

**Lulu: Thanks for reviewing! I'm so happy you liked it! Hope you enjoy the next one too!**

**Peachy65: Loved reading your long review! I'm thrilled you enjoyed it. Donna may pop into the story but not until much later. It won't be talked about in too much detail for now on but both characters knows what they did and will carry that guilt with them for the rest of the story.**

**Vaughnloveralwaysnadforev: I'm so happy you liked it! Thanks so much for reviewing! Mallory won't be featured that much in this chapter but I'll delve a lot more into her character next chapter!**

**AN: Hello my lovely readers! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you liked my last chapter. This one is a long chapter too! I got the name from a line from the song "Roxanne". I hope you all enjoy! **

**Chapter 9**

"Oh man, thank God it's Friday!" Mark joked to his roommate as he rested his head rest.

"I hear ya," Mac laughed, "I just want to get off this bus and get to the closest party possible."

The team was riding home on the bus from their trip to Ohio. They played against some teams in the WHA there and did pretty well. In fact, they only lost one of the four games and it was only by one goal.

"Maybe we can party with the girls on our floor," Bah joined the conversation. His seat was on the other side of the bus beside Mac and Mark's.

"Doubt it," Rizzo, who was only one row in front, told them, "They have finals next week. They're probably at the library studying."

"Damn," Mac shook his head.

"That might be for the best, man," Bah chuckled, "You might want to steer clear from Heather."

The guys that were in close proximity to the conversation all laughed, even if they weren't apart of it. Heather really dissed Mac when she slapped him two weeks ago.

"Actually Heather and I worked everything out," Mac smirked.

"How?" Dave Christian asked, he was in the row behind them.

"A gentleman never tells…"

"Dude, you're no gentleman," Mark teased.

"I was nice enough to do it in a night you weren't in the room," Mac tried.

"Thank God for that," his roommate laughed.

"Whatever. I'm done with her anyways," Mac shrugged, "If the girls are all out studying then we should go to a bar or something."

"Are bars even open this late in Minnesota? I know they are in Boston, but that's an actual place," OC interrupted, "Here it seems like everything closes at ten."

"How late is it?" Mark asked.

"It's like one thirty in the morning," OC read his wristwatch, "Late for Minnesota standards."

"Really?" Mark was stunned. The team spent the whole day riding in the bus and Mark spent it sleeping or talking so he didn't even realize how much time had passed.

"Yeah," Rizzo nodded, "We should be home in like half an hour."

"Thank God," Pav groaned, unlike Mark he had been awake the whole bus ride.

"Well all the parties will probably be winding down by the time we get back, so maybe we should just crash tonight and party hop tomorrow," Mark suggested, reverting back to earlier conversation.

"I second that," Pav quickly replied.

"Alright"

"Yeah"

"Sure"

The team all reluctantly agreed. They were kind of pissed at first but once they got back to the dorms, the team unpacked the bus silently and walked heavily up to their rooms. They were exhausted and needed to rest up for a day of doing nothing and partying.

After the team got back from Ohio, they had the day off. Herb said it was because of the hard work they did during the week, but the guys figured he just wanted the weekend off. The guys spent the day lounging around the dorms or going out. They didn't see any of the girls; in fact none of their doors were even open. No one saw any of them leave or enter, so they figured they locked themselves in their rooms studying. The guys were kind of bummed that Rizzo was right about the girls studying because they would have loved to party with them, but they figured they'd just meet more girls later on whenever they decided to go out.

"When do the parties start around here?" OC asked aloud to no one in particular.

"It's been a month, OC, you should now this by now," Bah replied with a chuckle.

"It's all been one blur of cows and farms," OC joked.

"Woah!" Phil who wasn't really paying attention spoke up. He was closely reading his magazine.

"Verchota, I can't believe got that stupid celebrity magazine," Silk rolled his eyes at his roommate.

"No, dude, check her out!" Phil pointed a picture of a girl in his magazine.

"Brooke Shields? Man, she's like fourteen! You're going to jail," Silk cracked up.

"Reminds me of Elizabeth a little bit. If she wasn't such a bitch I'd nail her once she turned eighteen," Phil told the group.

A few of the guys nodded in agreement.

"It sucks that she's a bitch. She seems kinda easy too, like when we saw her at the park. Oh well, I'm more into blondes anyways," OC sighed.

"Maybe we could try muting her in our minds," Pav suggested.

"I already do that and she's still a bitch!" OC exclaimed.

Everyone laughed at that one. Ever since meeting Elizabeth they've never really had a good experience with her. In the locker room she was kind of turning into the team joke, now that expanded outside the walls of the arena.

The guys heard a tap at the door. Before anybody could announce "Come in!", Mallory opened the door. Her hair was in a messy frizz and she was wearing her big glasses. She was in full on study mode.

"Guys get the fuck outta here!" she ordered the guys in a stern voice.

"Wow, the greetings have really gone done around here," Verchota joked.

"So much for 'Minnesota Nice'," Silk laughed.

"Dude, right now I'm northern bitch. Now everyone needs to go. You're all talking too loudly and the girls are studying. Time to leave," she held the door opened and motioned for them to get out.

"This is my room!" Mac protested.

"Yeah, well this is my floor. And I can get you all outta here for good. Don't test me," her eyes grew wide with anger.

"Let's just go," Mark rolled his eyes. He wanted this to be a chill night, without any arguments.

Mark knew that the guys would listen to him, and they did. After that the guys didn't put up much of a fight with Mallory. In fact, they got up and left pretty quietly. Mallory nodded to Mark in appreciation as he walked by her holding open the door, but he looked down at his feet while walking by and didn't notice.

"Auf geht's! Auf geht's! " Mallory snapped her fingers as the guys were filing out.

"What the hell does that mean?" Ramsey asked.

"It's German," she sighed, "Now go! Stay out late! Don't come back til much later…."

The guys didn't bother with the elevator and just took the stairs. In the stairwell the conversations started getting loud again and just a minute after Mallory kicked them out they were all standing in the parking lot.

"Who wants to be designated driver?" Verchota shouted to his teammates, "God knows I won't be."

"I'll be one," Jim offered, "I don't trust any of you with my car."

"I'll go with you," Silk volunteered.

"Verchota, you need to be one. Your one of the only ones with gas in their cars," Rizzo said.

"Riz, you should be our DD. We haven't partied forever, but you partied last weekend with Mallory….without us," Verchota teased.

"Fine," Rizzo reluctantly agreed. He would rather be a designated driver than talk about that night with too much detail.

Once the rest of the designated drivers were chosen or pressured and the cars were all assigned they were all off. It was a carpool of around five cars. Rizzo drove Verchota's car with OC in shotgun and Verchota, Ramsey, and Baker in the back.

"I wanted to be shotgun," Verchota complained.

"Then you should've volunteered to drive," OC shot back.

"Whatever," Verchota groaned, then quickly shifted topics "Man, Mallory was a real bitch tonight.

"Yeah," all the guys in the car agreed in a general consensus.

"I get they have finals, but the girls could've all gone to the library. I mean its summer semester, there can't be that many people here," Baker added.

"Whatever after next Thursday everything will be back to normal," OC told them.

"Except for the fact that all the girls are going to leave," Ramsey pointed out.

"Mallory told me they were gonna have a big party on our floor before they go. You all still have one last shot with whoever you want," Rizzo said as he followed behind Jim's car taking a turn.

"I hope so. Mal was pissed off at us tonight," Verchota sighed, "I just hope she doesn't flake out on it in like the last minute."

"She won't," Rizzo shook his head, "We talked about it at the wedding. It's been in the works for a while."

"Ohhh," some of the guys nodded in understanding.

"How was the wedding by the way?" Phil laughed, "Did you like meet her parents and stuff?"

"I wonder what they're like," Baker chuckled.

"No I didn't. Her mom was out of town, and her dad died," Rizzo explained.

"Jeez," Baker felt bad for joking around earlier, "Was it recent?"

"Maybe that explains why she was gone last semester," Phil wondered aloud.

"No. He died when she was a kid. He died in Nam," Rizzo told them as the car reached a red light right in front of the bar, "I'm glad Silk wasn't in the car for that…"

"Why?" Ramsey was confused.

"Because his dad died there too," OC answered for Rizzo in a solemn tone.

"Oh fuck," Phil muttered.

"Woah, that was a little heavy," OC sighed as the car pulled into the parking lot, "We should just drink that off."

"Yeah."

"Good idea."

"I'm with ya."

When the guys all entered the bar, they found it packed with college-aged people. Fall semester was starting up in a few weeks and everyone who didn't attend summer semester wanted to party as much as possible before it was time to hit the books again.

They guys all looked around to find any free tables they could. There were a few close to each other so the guys decided to join them all together and they all sat at one big table. It was hard to believe that only a month ago there were Boston and Minnesota tables. Not every relationship on the team was perfect, but it was a hell of a lot better than before.

The big table had a perfect view of the rest of the bar. The guys liked that because they could scope all the pretty girls right from their seats. They could see anybody.

"Holy…shit!" Phil breathed.

"What?" Jim asked.

"My old friend is at the table right across there…with Elizabeth," Phil pointed when he knew the pair he was looking at wasn't watching.

The guys all turned their heads to the table Phil was pointing to. He was right. It was Elizabeth. She was with a guy who was much older than her. He looked even older than most of the guys on the team. They were sitting around the table with a couple of other guys who looked college-aged and there was one other girl there. She had red hair and she was under the arm of one of the guys. Elizabeth seemed cozy under her date's arm too.

"Oh my God! It is!" OC cracked up.

"Isn't that your friend Rich?" Bah remembered meeting him once before.

"Yeah! Didn't he go out with Mallory?" Mark asked.

"It is him," Phil confirmed, "I think they only went on a date. I never found out how it went though…"

"It probably went well," Bah laughed, "I remember he told us his strategy for picking up women."

"It seems to work well for him, since he's out with Elizabeth now," Rizzo added.

"I bet he doesn't know she's seventeen," Jim said.

"Who cares?" Verchotta brushed him off.

The guys changed topics after that. They didn't want to waste their whole night talking about that. Occasionally one of them would glance up at Elizabeth's table but they wouldn't notice. Once Phil looked up at his friend and Elizabeth and Rich noticed, but he just nodded him a greeting.

Time passed after the guys first settled in at the bar and it was a very chill night, everyone was having a good time. It was a great stress release after a long week of traveling and playing. And they had a lot more space than the dorms. A few of them were kind of glad Mallory kicked them out because if not they might've been too lazy to go to the bar. Everything in the bar was pretty calm too, until Roxanne came on the juke box. Then a big commotion was heard from the table that Elizabeth and Rich were sitting at.

The guys turned their heads to see why so much noise was coming from that table. They saw Elizabeth and the red-headed girl dancing up on the table to the song, and all the guys at the table sitting in the seats clapping them on.

"_Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light…"_ the two girls sang.

The girls were jumping around and shaking their bodies to the music. They even sang into beer bottles as if they were really performing the song. They both seemed completely smashed. Everyone who was in the bar saw it. The girls laughed at their idiocy and were embarrassed for them, and the guys were all clapping and cheering them on.

Rich looked over to the table that the guys were sitting at. He looked directly at Phil and pointed to Elizabeth then did a gesture that suggested she was going to give him oral sex. Phil just laughed and gave him the thumbs up.

"That sorry son of a bitch," Phil laughed to some of his teammates who were close by.

After the song was over all the guys in the bar stood and clapped and cheered them on. Elizabeth and the other girl just giggled and bowed then got off the table. The rest of the guys at Rich and Elizabeth's table sat down except for that couple and the other girl and her date. The other couple seemed like they were leaving. Now that the jukebox was off the guys could hear what the other table's conversation was.

"NICE TO MEET YOU!" Elizabeth cracked up.

"You too!" the other girl drunkenly slurred.

The red-headed girl left in the arm of one of the guys at the table where Rich and Elizabeth were sitting. After they were out of site, the guys saw a small inaudible exchange between the pair and then Elizabeth walked away. Jim turned his head to see where she was going and spotted her going into the ladies room. Rich stayed where he was standing.

"Someone should warn Rich about Elizabeth," Jim told the table.

"About what? That she's a bitch? He probably knows that by now," OC replied.

"No, that she's under-aged," the goalie answered.

Jim looked to Phil, the person on the team that knew Rich best. Phil saw that Jim was trying to single him out and he stood his ground.

"I'm not gonna tell him," Phil protested, "He's a friend I don't want to cock-block."

"Dude, she's seventeen! That's illegal," Jim tried.

"But if he finds out then he'll leave her like here. She probably didn't drive here and she doesn't have a purse so she has no money on her for a cab, so we'll have to drive her home," Pav complained.

"So? It's not that big of a deal. She can't live that far away, she practices on the same ice we do," Jim told them.

"Jimmy, if you tell him and he bails than you're driving her home. None of us thinks that's a good idea besides you," OC said.

Jim looked around the table of his teammates to find a sympathetic face. But it was useless, he knew he wasn't going to find one here. He shrugged, shook his head, and stood up. If his friends weren't going to do the right thing, than he would. Jim walked straight towards Rich, who was standing a few feet away from his table waiting on Elizabeth.

"Hey," Elizabeth's date nodded, recognizing Jim as one of the guys on Phil's team.

"Hey man. You do know Elizabeth's only seventeen, right?" Jim informed him.

"Oh shit," Rich growled, "Well than you deal with her. I don't want her. Thanks for telling me."

Rich just shook his head and walked away from the situation. Jim looked at him with a pissed off expression on his face. First Rich gets an underage girl drunk and then he leaves her at the bar where anything could happen to her? He was really a world-class jackass.

'No wonder Mallory would go out with that guy,' the goalie thought to himself.

Jimmy saw Rich signal his friends and they all left the table. They were all able to get out before Elizabeth came back from the bathroom. Jim stayed standing where he had his conversation with Rich until Elizabeth came back into the bar. He saw her looking over at her empty table and a sad look came across her face. Jim then walked over to her.

"Elizabeth," he said her name when he reached her.

"Where are they, Jimmy?" the teenager asked, "Did you send them away?"

"What? No…"

"Yes you did!" she exclaimed, "Jeez, why does every member of your team feel the need to cock-block me?"

"He was going to take advantage of you," he told her.

"No, he wasn't!" she tried.

"Whatever…" the goalie sighed.

Jim looked over to his table and saw his teammates all watching the scene. They didn't seem very interested in actually helping her out like Jim was. Jim knew that they wouldn't change their minds about driving her home. He just shook his head at them all with an annoyed look on his face.

"…I'll take you home," Jim offered.

"I don't want you to drive me!" Elizabeth tried to fight it.

"Well you didn't drive and I'm not letting you walk alone at night," Jim insisted.

Before Elizabeth could say anything else, Jimmy grabbed her arm and practically dragged her out the door. Once they got outside Elizabeth got her arm free from Jim.

"I can walk myself!" she said coolly.

"Fine, my car is this way," Jim nodded towards the left side of the parking lot.

He walked towards the car and Elizabeth reluctantly followed behind. It took her a minute longer to get to the car and when she arrived she saw Jimmy waiting outside of it for her. He unlocked the car and then reached over the seats to unlock her side. When the pair got in Jim's car, he drove away from the bar.

The first few minutes were in silence. Elizabeth just slouched down in the passenger seat. She rested her head on the door and frowned. Jim looked over at her and thought she looked sick. He pulled over to the side of the road.

"If you're gonna hurl, you should step out of the car, you know, 'cause the upholstery…" Jim said.

"Trust me, I'm not drunk!" she propped her head up.

"Well I think your table dance says different," Jim shot back.

"No seriously. I didn't have a drop of alcohol tonight. I don't like beer, it tastes like piss. I only like wine and hard liquor. That's why I usually order red wine, like that night we met," the petite brunette explained.

"So you just pretended?" Jimmy questioned, with a confused tone.

"Yeah," she nodded, sounding a little embarrassed.

"But…why?"

"I've been told that I'm not fun," Elizabeth looked away from the driver and to her own reflection in the side window.

"That's not….." Jim couldn't complete that statement because he knew he would be lying. He didn't know her very well so he couldn't say if she was a fun person or not. But the few times he's been with her she was rather unpleasant towards him, except for the night they met at the club, "Well, maybe you can try to be nicer."

"Fuck off! I'm plenty nice," Elizabeth defended herself.

"Like try saying less comments like that," the goalie told her.

"I'm really nice to people I don't know," she tried.

"You don't know me and you're kinda a bitch around me," Jim tried to joke.

"That's different. I was nice when we first met but then you all had to go and steal my ice time."

"We didn't plot out to get you or anything. It was just a schedule mix up," Jim sounded annoyed, she said that all the time and he didn't think it was that big of a deal.

"Whatever," she shrugged, "How do you think I should be 'nicer' to people?"

"I don't know…" Jim chuckled, "Maybe give someone a compliment or something."

The two sat in silence for a moment. Jim was still looking at her and Elizabeth just looked down at her feet. Jim then looked away and Elizabeth glanced at him and sighed.

"You have nice eyes," Elizabeth said softly.

"What?" Jim was surprised the compliment was towards him, "Well thanks. You do too, but then again we have the same eye color."

"But blue eyes are different on guys," she told him.

"How?"

"Just take the compliment!" she said harshly, then she took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. Just, uh, just take me home."

"Okay," Jim nodded.

He then turned on the ignition and drove the car on the road again. Elizabeth gave directions and the car ride was about fifteen minutes long. The house looked pitch black and there wasn't even a light on. Jim figured she must've snuck out.

"Do you want me to help you sneak back in?" Jim offered, "I don't want your parents catching you or anything."

"I'll be fine. I've done this before," she replied, "And my parents don't live here. They live in San Francisco. I live with my coach Lorraine."

"Oh…"

"Well thanks for the ride. Good night," she said quietly.

"Night."

**Press the "Review this Chapter" link right below and write me how you feel about it. It doesn't need to reach the 10000 characters mark that's allowed! Any comments will be most welcome and loved by me! I will love you so much that I'll write you a little side note in the beginning of my next chapter! Just think about it, haha.**


	10. I'm Waiting For The Man

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked Elizabeth's part. She won't be in this chapter, but she's going to have a special shout out next chapter!**

**LTJM: Thanks for reviewing **** I hope you like this chapter too!**

**Lulu: Thanks for the review!**

**AN: This chapter is very different from other ones I've written so far. This is all basically Mallory's point of view on a situation that happens. These show all her thoughts, actions and feelings and I think it's a deeper look inside her character. This is very experimental to me so be kind! I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 10**

**Mallory's POV:**

God, life is good! No, life is great. Finals are over. No more Adam Smith, no more boring economics lectures, well at least not for two weeks when the fall semester starts up again. Oh yeah, I get two weeks off! I couldn't be happier. All I'm going to do for the next few weeks is sleep, eat, and listen to music. Well, I've got to help Randy move to Canada but that's not for another week or so. Man, I'm sure gonna miss him. But I can't think about that negative right now…

Tonight is the big party, now that's a positive thought. I can't wait! We all finally get to blow off some steam from our finals. The guys on the hockey team will be there too. I know half the girls on the floor want to fuck at least one of them, while the other half has boyfriends but secretly want to anyways. I am unsure whether I want to or not, and not for this night only but just in general. My main interest on the team was that hot defenseman Jack O'Callahan, but I have no idea what his intentions are.

I'm still overwhelmed by what Rizzo told me, about Jack and his girlfriend Jessica. I am mostly surprised that he was in a committed relationship for that long. Every time I talked to him he always seemed like the biggest player, or maybe he was just trying to sound like that to get me to go to bed with him. I don't really know what to do about him. Maybe I can play it by year?

Jack scares me. All guys scare me. I'm afraid of how I act around them and how they see me. After finding out about Jessica, I got very upset. Is Jack only using me for rebound sex? Why does it have to be me? He's cute and he can pick up any random girl at a bar. Why would he want to with a girl he knows he's going to see a lot? There has to be something more there…

Or maybe I'm trying to trick and lie to myself. What if there isn't something there and he just wants to fuck me? Does that mean the guys see me as a just a fuck? God, guys are so confusing. I hate when they make me think and over-analyze. I make myself practically think so much that it hurts. Then I emotionally hurt myself because I don't know how I should really feel about a guy. Can a man possibly be a woman's greatest weakness?

As all these thoughts rush through my head I realize that I completely zoned out of what I was doing. I was reading the latest _Rolling Stone_ magazine. It came out over a week ago but I was so busy with the wedding and finals that I didn't have time to read it. Rickie Lee Jones is on the cover. Note to self: don't let Randy borrow it or I'll get it back with sticky pages, sick bastard! I guess I zoned from her article because I don't like her music that much. She only really has one good song; she might even be a one hit wonder. Who knows!

Thinking of Rickie Lee Jones makes me want to put on my own music. To me nothing in the world is better than lying on my bed with a package of cigarettes and the latest _Rolling Stone_ with a good album on in the background. I get off my bed and walk over to my collection of forty-fives. I peruse them quickly and eye the record I want.

"Perfect!" I mutter aloud to myself.

I grab The Velvet Underground and Nico which was the debut album for the band with the same name. I put it on then lay back down on my bed, picking up the article where it left off. 'I'm Waiting For the Man' comes on.

"_I'm waiting for my man…_" I sing along with the song.

I read the cover article for a second. I can't even concentrate on it. I find it pretty boring. I don't like her music and all she's doing is trying to explain how cool she is. I'm not really into self-promoters. I flip through the magazine looking for a more interesting article to read. I quickly skim the whole magazine until I see a headline about David Bowie, the master of being cool. I immediately stop and begin reading.

**Knock, Knock, Knock**

"It's open!" I shout without looking up from my article. As I read I try to find my cigarettes so I can light one up.

I hear the door open and a familiar voice address me, "Hey Mallory."

I finally glance up from the Bowie article. There aren't too many men in Minnesota with Boston accents so I already knew who it was. I stopped looking for my cigs after that.

"Hey Jack."

"What song are you listening to? I feel like I've heard it before but I can't put my finger on it…"

I saw Jack closing the door behind him. I never close my door unless I'm asleep, not in my room, or studying. I'm RA so I keep my door open for anyone's questions and concerns. Everyone knows that so they usually keep the door at least slightly ajar if they want to see me, but Jack closed it all the way. Right then and there I knew this wasn't going to be your ordinary chit-chat.

"I'm Waiting for the Man," I answer, ignoring the fact that he closed the door, "It's by the Velvet Underground. They're probably not in your radar."

I should've asked him why he closed the door. But then how would I respond to his answer. Should I keep engaging with him?

"They aren't, but Nico is," Jack joked.

My jaw dropped. Nico sang with the band at times, they went their separate ways because they never really liked her to begin with. Her voice was kind of icy, but luckily she isn't in the song I'm currently listening to…What am I doing? Focus on the guy in your room, not the song!

"Wow," I smile, "You surprise me with your knowledge everyday."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he chuckled.

"So what other music do you like, Jack?" I'm curious and intrigued now.

Music is such an important part of my life for so many reasons. My greatest memory is going to the Beatles with my father before he went to Vietnam. And I'll never forget Woodstock. I was only twelve, but that's when I discovered rock music. I still can't believe I….I hear Jack talking to me and my focus turns back to him.

"Why do you call me Jack?" he questioned, "You call everyone else by their nicknames, like Rizzo and Silk and Mac. But not me. Why?"

"I…don't know," I replied back in a confused tone.

To be honest, I knew exactly why. I've thought about going to bed with him. When I was with Mac I called him Robbie, and I even called Rizzo Mike when we were having sex. I personally think it's more proper to do it that way. If I called someone by a nickname that their guy friends gave them than I think that they would only consider me a friend and nothing more. When I first called him Jack I didn't want to be just regular friends with him. Now I really don't know what I want but I'm so used to calling him that. I may have to wean myself off it like I did with Robbie…I mean Mac.

"So how's the team coming?" I quickly change topics to something I know he'll be distracted by.

Jack begins telling me all about it. Well mostly about him and what he contributes to the team, big hits and good plays. I kind of begin to zone out again.

Instead of listening, I looked into his eyes. They were so beautiful. That's always the first thing I notice about people, not their face, not their bodies, but their eyes. And how I see them is seeing how people look at me. For instance, I can tell that Jack likes me because his eyes suggest that he's interested. Mac, on the other hand, uses his dark brown eyes to glare at me. I don't know if it's that I turned him down or got Heather to slap him but he's hated me for a while. Whatever, he'll get over it. And Rizzo, well, I haven't been able to look Rizzo directly in the eye since the wedding….

But there are other guys on the team, like Mark and Silky. Both of them have kind eyes. I'd like to get to know them better. The person with the best eyes on that team is probably that goalie, Jim Craig. He has deep blue eyes. From a distance I can see what they really look like, but whenever I come close Jim's baby blues go from soft blue to icy cold. I'm not stupid I know he hates me, I just don't know why.

"Mallory," Jack interrupted my thoughts, "You listening?"

"Sorry," I shook my head honestly, "I'm just so exhausted. I still feel the stress of finals."

"Well," he smirked, "When I'm tired and aching after practice I get the trainer to give me a message."

"I'm not Miss Millionaire over here. I can't afford to go to a masseuse," I rolled my eyes, athletes were so privileged.

"I was gonna suggest that I could give you one," he grinned at me, "I know how to give a pretty good one."

'I bet he's had a lot of practice,' I thought to myself. I'd never have the guts to say that aloud though, especially to him.

"Ok," I replied softly.

I maneuvered myself so I could have my back face him. I knew what was coming but the first touch felt so unexpected. The hairs on my arms stood up I was surprised. I don't remember the last time I got my back rubbed, I wasn't really much for foreplay. But then again, I wasn't going to let this lead up to anything more.

My mind slowly began to wander. I am very relaxed now. This feels good. No it feels great, fantastic really. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, taking this all in. My mind then becomes a total blank. I open my eyes and just stare off into space, unable to come up with a thought. Those are the greatest moments, when you are so relaxed that you don't even need to think of anything to occupy your thoughts. I don't know how much time passed but eventually Jack got tired and stopped.

"You didn't fall asleep on me did you?" Jack chuckled.

"No," I turned back to face him, "Thanks so much."

"Expect more to come," he winked.

I gave him a half smile back. I know he wants me. But what for? Is it because he just wants to get over Jessica, or is it because he really likes me? I don't know him well enough to be able to tell.

It became very quiet in the room.

'Oh God, what should I do?'

I'm looking at him, unsure of what to say or do. A million thoughts begin to fill my head. Should I hesitate? Should I go for it? What would I do if I didn't know about Jessica? Maybe he's over Jessica. Why did Rizzo have to tell me about Jessica?

My downstairs brain began to take charge over my upstairs brain. Why should I not do what I want to do because of what I know? He's not even in a relationship, he shouldn't be off limits. Even if he's just looking for a rebound, why shouldn't I be it? Why should I be a grown up about this situation? Christ, I'm only twenty-two!

Without any more hesitation I went for it. I kissed him, hard. He immediately kissed back with an even harder force. I wrapped my legs around his body and he laid his back down on my bed, all while we were still kissing. I hurriedly took off his top and he practically ripped mine of me. No more thoughts or second guessing after that.

I'm a sucker. I guess boys really are my weakness…


	11. Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer

**LTJM: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the POV thing. I was very nervous about it so your review helped cure my worries!**

**Peachy65: Thanks for reviewing! There's some drama dealing with that crazy situation in this chapter, but it probably won't be an issue for that much longer, there's gonna be a lot more drama to deal with!**

**Lulu: Thanks!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for the review! I hope you like this one too! Some more Mallory and OC trouble, and this is kind of build up for more to come.**

**AN: Hello my amazing readers! I'm sorry it took so long to update. This past week my papa passed away. It's been a physically and emotionally exhausting week. Writing helps me distress though, so that's what I did. I hope you like this. Please review! And yes, "Tiny Dancer" is that song from **_**Almost Famous**_** haha, enjoy!**

**Chapter 11**

Jack and Mallory lay on their backs in bed. They both stared up at the ceiling, not even looking at each other. Both knew what they had done, but neither knew what to say. The only sounds that could be heard were the last song "All Tomorrow's Parties" from the album Mallory began playing right before OC came in and the faint sounds of the fan in her room. It was very hot in the room so they weren't under the covers. Mallory was happy that Jack closed the door now.

The blonde girl took a deep breath and tried to mentally escape the situation by listening to the words of the song. Unfortunately for her, the song was on it's last few seconds and the album died after that.

"Wow, that was great. I think I might buy that album now," OC grinned.

"That _album_ was great?" Mallory looked at him for the first time. She was very confused, what about her?

"Yeah but you were even better," he teased as he brushed some of her blonde locks away from her face, "God, you're pretty."

"Thanks," she gave him a half smile.

Mallory looked at the guy that she was lying next to in bed. He was really good looking, probably one of the best looking guys she ever shagged. But could looks be enough? The big bad Jessica question was yet to be answered, nor was it asked either. Was he over Jessica? Should Mallory even ask about her? If she did than that would be going behind Rizzo's back because from the way he told her, he didn't want her to go ask OC about it. If OC wanted her to know than she would've told her about it. Wait, why should she give a fuck about Rizzo anyways?

Amid Mallory's thoughts OC sat up. He found his underwear at the end of the bed and once he got them he slipped them on. Then he stood up from the bed to put on the rest of his clothes. Mallory stayed laying on the bed and watched in silence, not sure of what to say. She didn't know if this was just a one time thing or if he wanted more, or if she did. She hoped that he would speak up first. When the hockey player was all done getting dressed he spoke up.

"I told Jimmy I'd go with him to buy some booze for tonight," OC told Mallory.

"Ok," Mallory nodded.

"I'll see you tonight," he gave her his famous grin. Jack then walked up to the bed and cupped Mallory's face in his hand. He lifted her head up slightly and gave her a small peck on the lips.

"Bye," he said his farewell.

"Bye," Mallory finally gave a genuine smile.

OC then left Mallory's single and closed the door all the way behind him. He knew Mallory needed to get dressed and he didn't want anyone walking in on her. Once OC left, Mallory quietly yelped to herself. If this was a one time thing than he wouldn't have kissed her and said he would see her later. She wasn't just the getting over Jessica fuck!

She didn't need to ask about her any more, which was a relief because she didn't want to. If he wanted to see her again he was obviously getting over Jessica in his own way and Mallory didn't need to know what that was. But that left the question to Mallory what they were. She didn't want to ask that either. The RA than came to the conclusion that if Jack wouldn't talk about what they were than neither would she. They were going to play it by year and see what happens.

…

The party went under way at around eleven o'clock that night. It was in the common room area of their floor and everyone was there. It was packed. All the girls on the floor were leaving over the next few days so it was really a goodbye party. After the girls left the only people who would be on the floor for two whole weeks would be just Mallory and the guys. Then the new batch of girls would move in.

Mallory talked to some of the guys on the team and girls about what they were going to do for the next few weeks. Most of the girls were working or going on vacations with their families.

"So Mallory, are you going out of town at all?" one of the girls asked

"I'm gonna be away next weekend. I'm helping my brother and his girlfriend move to Canada. He's going to be playing in Canadian Juniors next season," Mallory explained proudly, then added, "I wish he went to college instead though…"

"Where in Canada is he going?" another girl questioned.

"Thunder Bay, it's in Ontario. It's like six hours away from here," the RA said.

"Cool! But shouldn't your mom be helping him out?" Mark asked.

"She is," Mallory nodded, "We're both going. I'm gonna get a drink, I'll be right back."

Mallory excused herself and went over to where the keg was. Luckily, it wasn't too crowded so she didn't have to push people to get beer. As she was getting beer out of the tap, she felt someone come up behind her.

"Hey Mallory…"

The blonde turned around and saw Rizzo standing behind her. He had a cup in his hand and he was waiting for the tap. Before Mallory could reply, Rizzo spoke up in a soft tone.

"I know OC went to your room earlier. You can do whatever you want with him, just don't say I didn't warn you…"

The hockey player just walked away, leaving Mallory with a confused and pissed off expression on her face. Jack approached her a couple seconds later. He didn't know that Rizzo was just over there.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Mallory shrugged, "Let's just sit down or something…"

Mallory and OC sat on one of the couches that circled the room. A bunch of people were sitting on the couches and small talk began. Mallory was fisting with a beer in one hand and she lit a cigarette in the other. Jack had his arm around the back of the couch. They talked to people around them and they were able to hear other conversations around them too.

"So Rizzo, tell us about your fiancé," a girl spoke up, "What's her name?"

"Donna," Rizzo answered, "It's not official or anything. But she's coming to visit next month, once the team gets back from Europe."

"That's great, congrats!" the same girl replied.

"Thanks," Rizzo smiled shyly.

"Let's turn up the music," Mallory groaned.

The blonde got up from the couch and walked over to the radio, where they had many rock blocks without any commercials. This hour was Elton John themed. "Tiny Dancer" began playing when Mallory turned it up. She then went back to the couch and sat next to OC again.

"I love this song!" Phil exclaimed rather loudly. He seemed to have one too many.

"Me too!" the pretty girl next to him seconded.

The group laughed a bit, but stayed quiet trying to listen to the popular song. Phil and the girl were whispering back and forth to each other but no one could hear or really cared about what they were saying.

"_Turning back, she just laughs…"_ Mallory began singing along.

"_The boulevard is not that bad,"_ a few more began to join in.

By the chorus the whole party had joined in on the singing. By that time, Phil and the girl began slow dancing to the song. They were pretty drunk so they kept tumbling and Phil almost dropped her when he was trying to dip her. It was hard for the spectators to contain their laughter.

"If it's supposed to be easy why don't you guys do it…?" Phil slurred looking right at OC and Mallory, who were sitting on the couch.

Mallory looked a little stunned. She was just sitting there singing the song and minding her own business. She didn't want to go up and dance in front of everyone. OC was a little nervous too, but wanted to play it cool in front of Mallory and his teammates.

"Do you wanna?" OC chuckled, looking down at Mallory.

"Sure…" the blonde giggled.

OC and Mallory both stood up from their seats and walked into the self-designated dance area, about five feet away from where Phil and his partner were dancing. OC put his hand on Mallory's lower back and they held hands. They started moving to the music and singing along with it and the rest of the group.

"_Hold me closer tiny dancer…"_

OC spun Mallory around and they showed everyone the perfect dip. They laughed when they did it and a few of the girls cheered. The pair just danced closer together, so close that their foreheads were touching, and didn't pay too much attention to the rest of the party goers. After the song ended Mallory and OC sat down on the couch, but Phil and his partner stayed standing.

"I'm tired, we should lie down in my room," Verchota suggested to the girl.

"Great idea! Then we can have sex!" she was very drunk and not very smart.

The two walked out hand-in-hand and the crowd was cracking up. Silk didn't look too happy.

"Great! Now where am I supposed to sleep?" Silk groaned.

"You can crash with me. She's my roommate," a cute brunette girl from the floor told him. She was sitting next to him on the couch.

"Well, _hello_ Jennifer!" Silk put his arm around her and inched himself so he could be even closer to him. He knew her because she lived on the floor and was on of the girls who was about to leave. A perfect one night stand for Silk.

Mallory and OC didn't talk too much in the conversation. They didn't even talk to each other. They just sat quietly on the couch, holding hands, and Mallory rested her head on his shoulder. They didn't want to cause too much attention to themselves, like the dance had done. So they sat quietly, taking everything in, just the way they preferred it. After a while Mallory got bored and fidgety.

"I'm gonna look for some music in my room," Mallory sighed.

"I'll help you," OC was quick to volunteer.

Mallory gave him an odd look for a second but just accepted what he really meant. The two stood up. They were both standing about five feet away from each other and said their goodbyes to the party goers.

"We'll be right back," Mallory said not seriously.

OC and Mallory then walked out of the common room feet apart and slowly. They weren't trying to hide anything and knew that the party goers had to know by then that something was going on; they were just trying to play it cool.

"So they're not returning tonight…" one of the girls laughed.

"OC? All night? I say they'll be back in three or four minutes…maximum," Silk joked.

The whole room erupted in laughter. Jack and Mallory didn't come back for the rest of the night. After an hour, more people began leaving the party, and thanks to the alcohol most of them left in pairs.

"Too bad people are leaving," Buzz said, "My wife wanted to meet everyone on the team."

"She'll meet people eventually. There's gonna be more events like this, no doubt," Silk replied, "Why isn't she here now?"

"Gayle's just getting off of work. She's a nurse over at Mercy Hospital," Buzz explained, "She'll be here in like half an hour. But if people are all leaving we'll probably just leave too."

"So are you guys having fun getting ready for the Olympics?" Jennifer asked, switching topics.

"Yeah it's been great," Mark answered.

"Yeah, but we still have the bitch to deal with when we go to the rink," Silk groaned.

"What bitch?" Jennifer asked.

"Elizabeth," Silk, Baker, Mac and Mark all answered in unison.

"Oh come on, she's not that bad," Jim tried.

"Ohhhh, do you like her or something?" Silk teased.

"Ewww, that's too gross to even think about," Mac interrupted.

"No," Jim shook his head, "I'm just saying she's probably alright if we knew her a little better."

"Who's Elizabeth?" Jennifer questioned.

"She's an ice skater who practices at the same rink we do," Mac shrugged.

"She's a bitch. Elizabitch," Silk laughed.

"And she acts like she's older than she is. We've seen her at bars and on dates with older guys and stuff. She's only seventeen," Mark said.

"Wow really? I wish I could get into bars when I was seventeen," Jennifer joked, "What's her last name?"

"Gallagher, I think," Jim responded, "I think her coach said it once. What's her coach's name again?"

"Lorraine, Elaine, something like that," Baker answered.

"Elizabeth Gallagher, that name sounds familiar," Jennifer wondered aloud, "I'll be right back."

Jennifer got up and walked out of the common room in a haste. Silk was checking her out as she went.

"Hope she doesn't take too long," he joked to his teammates.

"She's cute," Mac said, "But does she have the three Ps?"

"Is that like an STD or something?" Silk asked, sounding really turned off.

"No the three Ps for girls: Pretty, Proper, Professional," Mac told them, "That's how I judge all the girls I date."

"Then how do you explain Mallory?" Jim asked seriously.

The rest of the guys took that as a joke and cracked up. Mac brushed that off.

"Nah, Mallory is pretty and professional because she was always a good student. Sometimes she wasn't so proper, but that may have just been in bed," Mac chuckled.

"You better hope she's not proper in bed," Silk joked.

"Three Ps, I like that," Mark nodded, "I think I might start picking that up."

"Its full proof," Mac swore by it.

Jennifer came back into the room with a magazine in her hand. She sat down on the couch right next to Silk.

"I knew I heard this name before!" Jennifer exclaimed, "My sister is a huge ice skating fanatic. She left one of her magazines in my room."

"She's in it? What does it say?" Jim was intrigued.

"She's in some power ranking thing of top skaters in the US," the brunette said.

"Where does she rank?" Mark questioned.

"Eleventh," Jennifer looked down at her magazine, "There's a little blurb about her too."

"I hope it's about her warm personality," Baker chuckled.

"No," Jennifer laughed and then read aloud, "Gallagher is a classic skater who skates with beauty and eloquence, but won't break into the top ten until she stops playing it safe and starts to be more daring."

"What does that mean?" Mac asked.

"She probably does the same move over and over or something. I have no idea about anything doing with ice skating," Jennifer giggled.

"Eleventh is pretty good," Jim pointed out.

"Knowing Elizabeth she'll probably kill the top ten so she can be number one," Silk said.

The party began dwindling down after a while and by the time Gayle got there it was almost empty as compared to how many people were there before.

"Hey looks like I came a little late," Gayle laughed as she walked in, "It's only one-thirty. I thought this was a college party!"

"Everyone's hooking up and saying their goodbyes," Buzz chuckled as he stood up to greet his wife.

Mark, Mac, the other two coneheads, Rizzo and a few others were still hanging around so they all met Buzz's wife. They hung out and talked for about twenty minutes until Gayle and Buzz left to go home.

"Looks like she has the three Ps!" Mark exclaimed, "Pretty, Proper and Professional!"

"And that's why Buzz married her," Mac pointed out.

"Ohhhhhh," all the guys cooed.

…

It was very late that evening, well past the time the party had ended, and both Jack and Mallory were in her bed, both turned opposite to each other. Mallory lay wide awake, again thinking about her situation with OC. She heard his heavy breathing and knew he was sound asleep. The blonde tried to fall asleep but she was too wrapped in her own thoughts to calm down.

'Oh God, what am I doing?' she thought to herself.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to settle into a deep sleep. Moments later she heard OC turn his body over and they both were lying facing the wall. Then she felt OC wrap his strong arm around her stomach. She smiled to herself. This felt right and her worries from before were wiped away. She fell asleep a few minutes later.


	12. Sweet Emotion

**LTJM: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed it.**

**Birdcrap: Thanks for reviewing! There won't be only Mallory/OC moments this chapter, but there are plenty more to come **

**Peachy65: Thanks! There will be some stuff in this chapter about the Jessica situation, but it won't come up again for a while afterwards. Rizzo has his reasons for the way he's acting, it will really come into focus in a couple chapters from now.**

**Lulu: Thank you!**

**Septembrisms: Thanks for the review! I'm so glad you're all caught up with my story. There are a lot of guy parts in this chapter, and OC has a big part too! I hope you like it.**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for reviewing! Mallory will figure out her situation with OC in moment's time. We'll also see Rizzo's fiancé soon, not for a couple chapters though. It will be after they get back from Europe, which isn't for a while.**

**AN: Thanks everyone for their lovely reviews. I can't describe how I love getting them, thanks so much! They inspire me to write, even through the dread writer's block. I appreciate all your feedback. I hope you enjoy this chapter too.**

**Chapter 12**

The week passed by pretty quickly. It was a lot quieter than usual in the dorms because by Tuesday all the girls were gone. The only people left on the floor were the team and Mallory. Mallory was already taken. By Friday, the guys were all pretty bored and restless and that even showed at the rink.

None of the guys had spoken to Elizabeth since her date with Rich, but they saw her at the rink either ending practice before they began, or beginning practice right after they ended. She mixed her times up a lot. When they saw each other, nothing was said by either party. But on this particular Friday, some of the guys decided to change that.

"Ohhh there's that Elizabeth chick," Baker pointed to the young brunette skating off the ice. The team was lining up to get on.

"I was thinking maybe we could make her laugh or something. Joke around with her a bit, maybe she'll be less of a bitch," Silk suggested.

Phil laughed, "Then go for it, man. Hell, what do you have to lose?"

Elizabeth got off the ice and walked quickly past the first few guys who were waiting to get on the ice. She just looked down, not looking at them directly in the eye. As she walked past Silk and a few of the other guys, Silky spoke up.

"Hey Lizzie, sorry to hear about your ranking," Silky chuckled.

"It's Elizabeth, and what ranking are you talking about?" she looked up and was less than amused.

"You know the eleventh place in that US Power Ranking," OC informed her, "Ouch."

"Fuck off," Elizabeth shook her head.

The guys in range of what she said laughed. Elizabeth wasn't that much younger than them but she was small and pretty cute, it was kind of weird for them to hear them to hear her curse.

"No seriously," she didn't stand down, "Who the hell do you think you are? You're going for the Olympic team right, which means your amateurs. That's just a nice way of saying you're not good enough for the NHL."

"Actually most of us got drafted," Ramsey told her. He was drafted in the first round.

"Yeah and you guys aren't playing now because none of you are good enough to be on the team, they'd send your asses down to the minors."

"Hey, we were just messing around with you earlier, but since you want to be a bitch about it then go ahead," Mac rolled his eyes; he just wanted to begin practice.

"Whatever assholes," she shrugged to all the guys, then looked at Jim who looked upset with her, "Jim, don't patronize me."

Elizabeth then walked away from the situation. She felt like she said everything that needed to be said. All she could think was who they hell were they? She didn't even do anything to them today before one of them started being a dick to her.

"I'm surprised you even know what that means, high school," OC and a few of the guys laughed.

"Not for long," she mumbled to herself.

After Elizabeth walked some of the guys began laughing again. The guys all got on the ice and began warm ups while Herb and Craig, who didn't witness any of it, were running through drills for the day.

"Jim, don't patronize me," OC mimicked and cracked up, "What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know," he lied, it was about his earlier suggestion that she should be nicer, "I don't get why you guys needed to do that in the first place."

"I was just kidding around," Silk defended himself putting his hands up, "It's not my fault she can't take a joke."

"She didn't have to be such a bitch about it either. She could've just walked away," Mac agreed with Silk.

"She's only seventeen, she's not that mature," Jim tried.

"If she thinks she can drink and go to clubs and date older guys than she is obviously more mature for her age, or at least she thinks she is," Mark added.

"I don't know," Jim said, "She's probably not that bad once we get to know her."

"Hopefully we'll never have to," OC said honestly.

"At least we tried," Silk sighed, "Jim do you have the hots for her or something?"

"No," he shook his head.

"Then why are you defending her?" Verchota questioned.

"I'm not!" Jim protested, "I just don't see why you had to say that to her."

"Well I'm not gonna talk to her again. She needs to learn to lighten up or something," Silk replied.

…

The weekend went by quicker than the week. Before anyone knew it, it was Sunday night and Mallory was gone for the weekend helping her brother move to Thunder Bay. Since the girls on the floor were all gone the guys didn't have any one else to really hang out with besides each other. Different groups formed to do different things, like movies and going out to eat. OC, Silk, and Verchota decided to go out drinking. Most of the guys didn't want to go because they had a rigorous practice the next day but those three were risk takers. Jim decided to go with them to be their designated driver and to everyone's surprise Mark wanted to go too, simply because he didn't want to do whatever most of the other guys were doing that night. Before going out Silk, OC, and Rizzo were hanging out in Rizzo and OC's room, waiting for Jim, Mark and Phil to show up.

"When does your little lady get back home from Canada?" Silk laughed, "You must be lost without her! You've spent the night in her room almost every night!"

"Shut up!" OC chuckled, "She's just a good friend. We aren't in like a relationship or anything."

"She's a great friend. I wish she was my friend," Silk teased.

"Not ready for a relationship yet?" Rizzo asked, "Or is it her?"

Before OC could reply to his roommate's question, Silk delved deeper into the topic.

"So, OC, does Mallory know about Jessica?" Silk asked.

"Why does she need to know?" OC shot back tensely, "We broke up."

"Just curious. I mean you guys dated for like three years and broke up like two months ago. I just figured you talked to her about it," Silk tried to ease the mounting tension.

"We haven't," OC shook his head, "And I'm not gonna tell her about Jess. I think you guys and Jim are the only ones here that know about it, and I'm gonna make sure it stays that way."

"I'm gonna head out," Rizzo got off the bed, "Bah, Pav, and I are checkin' out a movie."

Rizzo quickly exited the room. He didn't want to be apart of that any more, especially since he told Mallory about Jessica. Hopefully she won't mention anything about it to OC.

A little while after Rizzo left, Verchota and Jim came to OC's room and the four of them left. Mark was supposed to hang out with them too but he was talking to his dad on the phone and said he'd meet up with the guys at the restaurant for their pre-alcohol meal. Jim was designated driver again and wanted the guys to drink on a full stomach. After they ate, they were gonna go to a fun college bar that Verchota knew of.

When the guys arrived to the restaurant they requested a table for five. They were seated and Silk immediately recognized one of the other patrons.

"Oh shit," Silk groaned.

"What?" Jim gave him a confused look.

"Elizabeth," he sadly nodded to somewhere in front of him.

The guys looked up and turned their heads. Alas, it was true. Elizabeth was in the same restaurant as they were. And she was with another older guy. They were sitting across the table from each other, just talking.

"Why does this always happen?" OC asked, "We keep bumping in on her and her creepy dates."

"I swear she's stalking us…" Silk rolled his eyes.

"Let's just forget about her," Jim tried. He figured that if they just pretended she wasn't there and she didn't notice, than they could avoid conflict. She really wasn't that bad, unless provoked.

So the guys continued their conversation and ignored the fact that Elizabeth was there. They just sat, talked, ate, and enjoyed their meal. Mark still hadn't arrived yet, so they asked for their check and decided to wait around for Mark to finally come.

After the waitress left the check on the table, Mark walked in to the restaurant. He looked around for the guys and saw Elizabeth at a table with an older guy. Mark just shook his head and looked around more for his teammates. When he saw them he walked over to the table.

"Hey guys," he greeted everyone as he sat down in the seat that was waiting for him the whole time.

"Hey, Magic! What took you so long?" OC laughed, "We just got the check!"

"Nothing," Mark said shyly, "I was just talking to my dad."

"That was a long conversation," Silk said.

"Well he's my old hockey coach too. He was giving me some advice as well," Mark explained, "And I had to walk here."

"You couldn't get a ride from anyone at the dorms?" OC asked.

"Nobody was there…" Mark looked at no one in particular.

"You don't need that much advice either, you're the best player on the team," Jim joked.

"Can he give me advice too?" Verchota kidded.

"Well than you'd be on the phone all night with him," Mark teased.

The small group of guys all began to laugh. Before Phil could even come up with a come back there was a loud crash. They all looked around and saw the noise came from Elizabeth's table. The table and everything on it was knocked over and the guy that Elizabeth was with was standing up. He must've been the one that did it. The whole restaurant was silent for a moment, watching and waiting to see what would happen next.

Everyone had their eyes on the guy, but Jim had his eyes on Elizabeth. She looked really upset and scared. She was shaking from her seat. The guy she was with angrily trudged out, leaving Elizabeth and the mess he made. Faint whispers could be heard around the restaurant, all talking about what happened. Elizabeth was breathing heavily for a moment and a waitress came over to pick up the mess.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Elizabeth didn't answer but did say, "I'll…I'll help."

Elizabeth finally moved off the chair and began picking up broken glass. She only picked up a few pieces before she cut her hand. She winced in pain and looked at the blood coming out of her hand.

"Don't worry about it," the waitress tried.

"Ok," Elizabeth's voice sounded shaky, she then reached in her purse and got a handful of money, "Here, that's more than enough."

Elizabeth then walked away, making sure not to look at anybody in the eye. Once she left conversation picked up in full volume again. Now everyone was talking about what happened.

"Maybe he found out she was only seventeen," Silk joked.

"Should we, uh, do something?" Mark asked no in particular.

"You guys stay here," Jim stood up, "I'm gonna give her a ride home. I'll come back for you guys."

"No," OC reluctantly shook his head, "We're all done. We'll come with you. You're probably gonna need help with that one."

All the guys, sans Mark, put money in and paid for the bill. They then walked out and while walking to Jim's car, they saw Elizabeth sitting on a bench a couple hundred feet from the restaurant. She wasn't as upset as she was before but when the guys started walking closer to her, they saw some tears coming from her eyes and her mascara running. It was very surprising to them because they only really saw her as a bitch that showed no emotion. To them, she was like a robot or something. This was the first time they saw her acting human.

When the guys finally reached her she covered her eyes with her hands, both trying to ignore them and covering up the tears. Once they got to her, it's like everything in the restaurant didn't matter and they put on a new persona of trying to make her feel better.

"Hey Elizabeth," Silk took a deep breath and sat down beside her on the bench. He put his arm around her, bringing her in close, "It's gonna be okay. That guy was a loser."

Elizabeth looked kind of uncomfortable about Silk being near her, but she didn't really care at this point, "Why do you guys even care? Can't you just go away?"

"No," Mark shook his head, "Who was that guy, Liz?"

"Elizabeth!" the blue eyed girl exclaimed through the tears, "And he isn't just some loser, he's my older brother."

"Well you're older brother's a dick. Why did he do that?" Phil asked.

"Long story," she shrugged, she didn't really want to talk about it.

A sharp pain then came to Elizabeth's hand again. Her hand was still bleeding a bit from when she cut it on the glass. The guys noticed and Silk immediately responded.

"Can I see your hand?" Silk grabbed her hand and placed it in his. Her palm was bleeding.

"Ouch! Don't touch!" she shrieked in pain.

"You're gonna be okay! You're gonna be okay!" Silk said in a sing-songy voice.

The guys all looked at him with confused expressions. Silk just played it cool and acted like it was normal.

"My ex-girlfriend taught me that. We were camp counselors together and she did that to the kids when they were injured," Silk explained.

"Really? An ex-girlfriend?" OC teased.

"Yeah, we're not together anymore. What?" Silk got offended.

"No I'm just surprised you had a girlfriend at all," OC joked.

All the guys laughed. Even Elizabeth chuckled and smiled a little bit.

"Is that a smile? That's the first time I've ever seen you smile, Elizabeth," Verchota joked.

"Shut up!" she giggled as she wiped away her final tears and looked down shyly.

"Come on, we'll take you home," Jim finally spoke up.

He was never as confident as Silk so he was glad that Silk sat down to comfort her, even though he kind of wished he was able to himself. Silk was fine with it though. He only really grew up with his mom, because his father passed away, and it just killed him to see a woman crying. He didn't really understand why, but if a girl was crying than he'd try anything he could to make them feel better. He didn't really like Elizabeth at all, but he couldn't help it. That was just the way he was.

"No!" Silk exclaimed, "Elizabeth do you have you're fake with you? We'll take you to the bar. You shouldn't be alone at home right now."

"I'm not alone," the ice skater chuckled, "I live with my coach."

"Well do you rather want to spend the night with your coach or us?" Silk questioned.

"Let's go," she said softly with a smile.

The guys went to a small bar that Verchota, a Minnesota guy, knew about. It was only about twenty minutes away from where the restaurant they ate at was. They all sat at a table and ordered a round.

"I wish we had some pot or something," Silk shrugged, sitting back and putting his arm around Elizabeth's seat.

"The drought isn't over but it's recovering," OC said, "Mallory and I smoked up a few days ago."

"Do you think she has some reefer?" Verchota was curious.

"Probably," OC replied, "I'll ask her tomorrow when she gets back."

"Do you smoke, Elizabeth?" Silk turned his head towards the girl next to him.

"Occasionally," she answered.

The waitress arrived at the table with a tray of beers. When she put the beer in front of Elizabeth, the ice skater pushed it back towards her.

"Uh, can I have a red wine instead?" Elizabeth asked, wondering why she didn't ask for one earlier, "I just… I hate beer."

"Sure," the waitress gave her a confused look, "What type?"

"Beaujolais nouveau," the brunette answered.

The waitress nodded, took the extra beer, and left the table to get a new order. The guys didn't say anything. Jim remembered that she hated beer when he drove her home after she faked being drunk. Looks like she wants to drink for real tonight. The guys continued talking and Elizabeth remained quiet unless asked something until her wine came. She felt really awkward about being there. Sure, she went out with older guys a lot, but they were different. She knew them, and was mean to them at times. She just really hoped they wouldn't bring up her brother again, and she was really grateful they approached her after that. She couldn't even imagine where she would be right now without them.

Elizabeth drank her glass of wine, and then ordered another glass, then another glass after that. With each glass she became more and more talkative with the guys. She and the guys lost count of how much she drank.

"You guys are going to Europe. That's awesome!" Elizabeth cracked up.

"I know!" Silk agreed, he drank as much as she did but in beer.

"Where are we even hitting in Europe?" OC laughed, he was tipsy also.

"Who knows! I just hope the European chicks are hot!" Verchota told everyone, in a drunken slur.

"I'm sure you'll find some lovely girl that loves Americans, Verchota," Mark replied, nodding his head over and over. He had drank on an empty stomach.

"We also got to play some hockey too, guys," Jim announced, the designated driver was the only sober one at the table.

"When do you guys go?" the blue eyed girl asked.

The guys all stayed quiet for a moment, trying to figure it out. Jim saw Verchota even look up, as if he was trying to look at his brain to find the answer.

"We leave September eighth and come back the twenty-second," the sober goaltender said.

"Awww! You miss my birthday! It's the eighteenth," she told everyone, "It will be my lucky year because I turn eighteen!"

"Praise the Lord!" Silk shouted.

The whole table, sans Jim, cracked up and tapped their glasses to this. They all finished their glasses when they were down sipping it down. Before they could order another round of what they were having, Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" began playing in the background of the bad.

"I love this song!" Elizabeth gasped, "It's like my anthem!"

"You should dance!" Verchota suggested seriously, "Like before with Rich!"

"Yeah!" all the guys but Jim agreed.

Elizabeth stood up, "Should I?"

"No!" Jim exclaimed. He didn't want her to make an ass of herself again, "You should just sit back down."

"Ok," she giggled. Instead of sitting in her own seat, she went right over to Jimmy and sat right in his lap!

All the guys laughed along with Elizabeth. OC patted Jim in the back jokingly, "Atta boy, Jimmy!"

Jim rolled his eyes and shook his head. He couldn't wait for their nasty hangover during practice tomorrow. The guys and Elizabeth began singing aloud, very loudly, to the song. There was nothing soft and chill about it, like "Tiny Dancer" had been at the floor party. This was loud and boisterous. It was almost like they were screaming and not singing. The song was only three quarters over when the other patrons at the bar got so annoyed that they reported them to the bartender. The group got kicked out by that point. Jim was a little relieved, just because it was getting late and practices were getting extra vigorous in preparation for Europe.

When the group all got outside, Jim led them all to his car. They were still singing along, all at different parts because there was no song in the background to go by. After a few minutes the song began to die down and they stopped singing.

"Elizabeth, where do you live again?" the goalie asked.

"Idon'tremember," the drunken girl mumbled so quickly that it sounded like one word.

"I think it was Woodbridge, right?" Jim tried to remember from when he gave her that ride before.

"Oh yeah!" the ice skater cracked up.

"You're able to sneak in like last time right?" Jimmy was making sure.

"Yeah, I've climbed that tree a million times. Never this drunk though! New adventures!" the brunette girl laughed.

"New adventures!" OC and Silk exclaimed, pretending to tap fake glasses.

"Oh God," Jim shrugged, imagining a million nightmare scenarios of Elizabeth trying to climb a tree, all ending with her falling and breaking her neck, "You're coming home with us."

"Yay!" Verchota cheered, "I call her as my roommate!"

"No!" Jim exclaimed sternly. He remembered a joke Mallory said on move-in day about how Verchota fucked a seventeen year, eleven month old girl. That wasn't gonna happen tonight.

"Fine, since you drove her home before you have first dibs. But I'm after!" Verchota whispered in his ear.

Jim shook his head and kept driving. One of the guys blasted the music and they were all singing along to random songs, even if they didn't know all the words. Once they got back to the residence hall, they didn't really know what to do with Elizabeth.

"Where am I to sleep?" Elizabeth asked slowly.

Some of the guys cracked up at her weird, drunken grammar.

"You can crash with me," Jim told her in her ear, not wanting the guys to know.

"Aww! Thanks Jim!" she exclaimed loudly.

"Awww!" the guys drunkly gawked him.

"Come on," Jim grabbed Elizabeth's wrist to get her and the rest of the guys to move from the parking lot.

Everyone walked as a group into the building. Much to Jim's shock, everyone was completely quiet when they got up to the sixth floor where they roomed. It was three in the morning at this point, only six hours before practice and they needed to begin sobering up. Even Elizabeth was quiet, she was probably going to practice after the guys that day instead of before like usual.

It was silent when Jim and Elizabeth first entered the room. Jim didn't know what to say or do and neither did Elizabeth. It was their first time alone together since Jim drove her home from that date with the creep. Both just looked at each, wondering what the other would do next.

"Now what?" Elizabeth finally spoke up.


	13. Non, je ne regrette rien

**LTJM: Thanks for the review! Hope you like the next chapter! Elizabeth will be in this, but more of her usual self.**

**Septembrisms: Thanks for reviewing! You'll find out what happened with Jim and Elizabeth in this chapter.**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the nice side of Elizabeth, but you won't see it here. She has to get to know people before being nice to them, so she'll be like that to the guys that got her drunk and that's about it! **

**Lulu: Thanks for reviewing!**

**Birdcrap: Thanks for the review! Hope you like the next one **

**AN: So thanks so much for you're amazing reviews! They were great, I loved them! This chapter starts off before the events from the bar from last chapter then goes to the next morning. I thought about putting this in my last chapter, but I don't know, I feel like it flows better in this one. Anyways, I hope you like it! And my song, if anyone saw **_**Inception**_**, this is the song from it! I just saw the movie and fell in love, so when I found out what the song meant in English I was excited that the theme was similar to this chapter! But enough of this AN, on to reading!**

**Chapter 13**

"Yeah thanks for helping me out, dad…I'll see you soon…Okay, bye"

Mark hung up the telephone and took a deep breath, trying to take in all the advice that his father and former hockey coach had given him. The hockey player was shocked that he even made the team to begin with. His father, "Badger Bob", and Herb were rivals because they coached rival hockey clubs. Mark figured that Herb wouldn't have wanted him just because of his father but he was wrong. He was very grateful that he was wrong.

Mark looked at the time on his clock radio and realized how long he was talking to his father. All the rest of the team was out doing various things, but he was meeting up with OC, Verchota, Silk, and Jimmy tonight at a restaurant then they would go out to some bar that Verchota knew of. He knew he was going to be on the phone so he told his teammates to go without him and that he'd meet them at the restaurant. Mark got off his bed and was walking towards the door when all of a sudden he heard a loud crashing noise.

"Son of a bitch," he heard a female voice groan from outside. He already knew who it was.

Mark opened the door to see Mallory on the ground with a box toppled to the side. Mallory was supposed to arrive back on Monday afternoon, so she was a day earlier than expected. There were many albums lying around all over the place. She must've dropped a box of forty-fives. Mallory was too busy sorting through albums to notice that Mark was standing a few feet away.

"Hey Mallory, need any help?" Mark spoke up, letting his presence be known.

Mallory gasped and flinched for a moment. The sudden sound shocked her but when she looked up to see where it came from, she saw Mark and smiled. She talked to him sometimes, but never really without a group. She thought he was nice and had kind eyes.

"Hey Mark," she laughed, "Jeez, you gave me a fright! You came out of nowhere!"

"Sorry," the hockey player chuckled, "I was in my room when I heard you drop your box. Do you need help picking up?"

"Sure," she was a little surprised by the offer, "Yeah."

Mark bent down to Mallory's level and began putting albums back in the big box. There was such an eclectic mix, Mallory sure knew her music.

"These are some nice records here," Mark complimented her.

"Thanks," she nodded, "Now the trouble is trying to figure out where to put them all…"

"Is that Edith Piaf?" Mark asked looking down at the album on the ground. He picked it up to look at it closer.

"Yeah," Mallory grinned looking over Mark's shoulder at it, "You know her?"

"Uh-huh," Mark nodded, then joked, "We listened to her in French class all the time. That's the only thing I remember."

Mallory giggled, "Well her voice is great! I wish I knew French. I've been taking college German for years! It's supposed to be easier."

"Yeah," Mark agreed, "Is that why you yelled at us in German once?"

"Yup," The RA smirked at the memory.

"Which album do you have?" Mark went back to the original topic.

"The one with Non, je ne regrette rien," she answered, "I love that song."

"'No, I regret nothing'. That's a good one," Mark translated and nodded, "Why do you have all these albums? Your room is already chalk-full of them."

"I got them from my house. Now that Randy is gone I'm taking back the rest of my shit," the blonde girl explained.

Mark and Mallory chatted more until all the records were put back into the box. Mark even offered to carry the big box into Mallory's room for her so she wouldn't accidentally drop it again. Mallory opened her door and turned on the overhead light, then Mark walked in and put the box on the floor in the center of the room.

"So I'm going out to see OC, want me to tell him you're home early?" Mark offered.

She gave a small smirk and shook her head, "No. Thanks though. Are we the only ones on this floor right now?"

"Yeah, why?" Mark questioned.

"I was wondering why it was so quiet," Mallory joked, "Well thank God you were the one here. I don't think any of the other guys would've helped me pick these up. Why are you left here anyways?"

"I'm sure that's not true," Mark shook his head, "And I was on the phone with my dad."

"Hmmm…maybe," Mallory sighed, and then nodded and smiled, "Ohhh that's nice."

"I'm sorry to hear about you're dad," Mark wish he hadn't told her he was talking to his father.

"It's okay," she nodded at him reassuringly, "It was such a long time ago and I was just a kid…"

"Well if you need anyone to talk to about it or anything…Silk's dad died in Vietnam too," he informed her nervously. He felt kind of awkward bringing it up, it just kind of slipped out.

"Wow," Mallory said softly and looked genuinely stunned, then changed topics "Do you need a ride to wherever you're going?"

"No thanks, I'm okay with walking," Mark replied, "Besides, I guess you don't want OC seeing you so just in case you better not."

"You're right," Mallory half smiled, "So I'll see you later."

"Bye, Mallory," Mark bid his farewell before walking away.

Mallory woke up the next morning from a great night of sleep. It had been a long weekend for her because she helped her younger brother move into his new apartment. It had been both physically and emotionally exhausted. She and her younger brother were close and despite the fact she never approved of him going to Juniors in the first place, she respected him enough to give her blessing. It would be hard for her to accept that he wasn't so close anymore.

But Mallory couldn't think about that now. She was gone for the whole weekend and had to run a bunch of errands that she would normally do on Saturday and Sunday. The blonde got ready quickly and went out the door. After closing the door, she looked down the hallway and saw another girl, a brunette, leaving a room also. She was leaving Jim Craig's room. The girl was trying to close the door gently so it wouldn't close all the way, as if she wanted to get back in when she came back from whatever she was doing. While she was doing that Mallory began walking down the hall and as she got closer to her she saw her face. She looked awfully young.

"Shit," Mallory groaned to herself.

When the guys moved in Mallory made it very clear that there was to be no under aged overnight guests, unless they were siblings, but Mallory never applied that to that Boston kids. But then again, Jim never really liked her. Mallory picked that up pretty quickly, but would he defy one of her rules because of it?

The RA kept walking and stopped when she reached the brunette, who had just finished adjusting the door. Mallory stood a few inches taller than her. But despite the fact that the girl looked young she was pretty, with really beautiful blue eyes.

"Hi," the brunette was startled.

"Hi," Mallory replied back, "Shouldn't you close Jim's door all the way?"

"No," the shorter girl replied, "I am, uh, getting a ride from Jim when he gets back from practice."

"Don't you have a car for yourself?" Mallory really wanted to know if she was even old enough to get a license, but she had to ease into it.

"Uh, no," the girl shook her head nervously then got defensive, "Why the hell do you care?"

"How old are you again?" Mallory ignored her question.

"I didn't say," the girl got lippy, "I'm seventeen."

"Fuck," Mallory sighed to herself, then immediately went into RA mode, "Get your stuff. I'm taking you home now!"

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" the brunette was pissed.

"I'm Mallory, the RA," she replied, "Who are you?"

'What the hell was Jim thinking?' Mallory asked in her head.

"I'm Elizabeth and I'm not going anywhere with you!" Elizabeth sounded appalled by the idea.

Mallory then eyed the slightly ajar door. She quickly grabbed the doorknob and slammed it shut.

"Well you're not going back in there. You weren't allowed to be on this floor last night. You can either walk or I can drive you. You're choice," Mallory gave an ultimatum.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" Elizabeth whined.

"Because I'm the RA. Trust me; I'm trying to help you. You want a ride or not?" Mallory began walking away, "I'm running errands anyways."

"Fine, whatever," the brunette groaned walking slowly behind Mallory.

The car ride was dead silent with the exception of Elizabeth telling Mallory her address. Mallory rolled her eyes, it was completely out of her way and not very close, so she decided to drop her off at the bus and train station. She figured Elizabeth was used to taking the bus since she didn't have a car.

Once Mallory got to the bus station she parked the car and looked over at Elizabeth to gesture her to leave. Elizabeth looked livid. Both didn't talk because they could already cut the tension with a knife but now Elizabeth looked even more pissed than before.

"This isn't my house!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Yeah this is a bus station. Your house is like across town," Mallory told her.

"So? Jim would've driven me home," Elizabeth said.

"Well I'm not Jim," Mallory replied back bluntly, "Besides you're lucky I gave you a ride. The only reason I did was because I'm running errands. Most people would've made you walk."

"You're the only one on that floor that even cared that I was there! No one else said anything last night," Elizabeth didn't understand why she was forcibly kicked out.

"I have to care, I'm the RA! Jim broke the rules bringing you there last night. Trust me; I'm helping you out right now!" Mallory tried, repeating earlier sentiments.

"Whatever," Elizabeth sat back in her seat, "I'm not taking the bus!"

"Why not?" Mallory took the bus all the time as a teenager and occasionally took it as an adult; it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Because the bus is for the homeless and the retarded," Elizabeth said seriously.

Mallory's jaw dropped. The girl seemed kind of spoiled but her last comment genuinely shocked her.

"Well I guess that you're going to have to be homeless or retarded this morning, now get out of my car," the blonde said sternly.

Elizabeth looked Mallory in the eyes. She was giving a very mean and scary look with her eyes. She was dead serious. In order to avoid a fight with the bitch, Elizabeth felt it best to just leave.

"Whatever. Thanks for nothing, asshole," Elizabeth groaned as she opened the door and got out.

She then looked inside the car and gave Mallory the finger, all when she was watching. Elizabeth then proceeded to slam the door shut and trudged angrily away.

"Well I can see what Jim saw in her, she's a peach!" Mallory joked to herself as she drove away.

…

The guys came back from practice pretty late. After their skate they had conditioning drills and watched film. The morning was rough for Silk, Mark, OC, and Phil but they managed to make sure Herb didn't believe they weren't hung-over. They knew that Elizabeth probably was the worst off since she had wine, which is stronger than beer. She wouldn't practice at all today.

Jim's car got back to the building first. It had him OC and Mark. The rest of the guys wanted to go out to eat, but Mark and OC were still worn from last night and Jim had to give Elizabeth a ride home. Walking down the hallway of their floor they saw a door open and music coming from that room.

_Non, rien de rien  
Non, je ne regrette rien_

"Mallory must be back," OC nodded towards her door, "But what the hell is she listening to?"

"No clue," Jim didn't really care.

"Edith Piaf, 'Non, je ne regrette rien'," Mark smiled, remembering that was the topic of their discussion last night. Talking about her must've got Mallory in the mood to play her album.

"That's French, right?" OC was pretty positive it was but he was double checking. He took French in high school but didn't remember any of it.

"Yes it is," Mark nodded.

Mark and OC kept walking down the hall, while Jim stopped when he reached his room. The guys were walking when they heard Jim mutter something, then he reached in his pocket to get his keys to open his door. Mark and OC didn't pay much attention to that, Mark was walking to get to his room and OC was walking to see Mallory.

"Hey Mal," OC leaned into her doorway.

Mallory was sitting on the floor against her bed, and she was writing something on paper. She used her album cover as a backing and she wrote.

"Hi," she looked up and smiled at him.

"Great song, Mal!" Mark chuckled from behind OC, as he was trying to open his door right across the hall.

"Thanks Mark!" Mallory chuckled right before Mark got inside his room and closed his door.

OC gave a confused look but Mallory didn't want explain it so just said, "It's kind of an inside joke."

"He's hung-over," OC rolled his eyes as he stood up from leaning and walked into the room.

"Well he's nice," Mallory tried, "What about you? Did you go out last night?"

Mallory of course already knew that answer, but wanted to hear Jack's words.

"Yeah I did," OC nodded, and then got defensive, "Are you like mad? Because I'm not going to apologize."

"Whoa, chill out!" Mallory put her hands up in defense, "I don't care what you do. I was just curious."

"Sorry," OC sighed, "I'm tired and didn't mean to flip. I'm going to take a nap because I'm still kinda hung-over. Wanna hang out later or something?"

"It's fine. We all have our hung-over fits," Mallory smiled at him reassuringly, "Come to my room later, I brought back some Canadian beer."

"Ok," OC yawned, "Later."

OC didn't wait for Mallory to say her goodbye before walking away. He was really beat from practice. And practicing with a hangover on top of that. That was not a good combination. He was exhausted, had a major headache, and every bone in his body managed to hurt. All he needed was a few Tylenol and several hours of sleep.

When OC was walking out of Mallory's room he saw Jim quickly brush past him. He didn't bother to ask him what it was about, because all his energy was involved in getting to his room fifty feet away so he could pass out on his bed. What he didn't know was that Jim brushed past him to get to Mallory's room. He was pissed.

"Mallory, what the hell is your problem? Where's Elizabeth?" Jim asked loudly, in an angry voice that Mallory never heard before. He was holding a crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

"I took her home," she replied in a 'duh' tone, "I see you got my note."

The note was a "See Me" to Jim, as if he was a kid in school. When Jim saw it he got pissed and opened the door to see Elizabeth gone. He put two and two together. Jim closed the door and they were both in Mallory's room now. Jim was standing and looked mad still. Mallory got up from sitting, as if she was making a stand. She knew Jim disliked her, but he never openly said anything to her until now.

"Look Jim you know the rules! I only gave two rules on move in day and one of them made marijuana okay to have! You broke my only serious rule. You're not allowed to have under-aged guests," Mallory tried to reason.

"How did you know that she…" Jim was cut off.

"She told me," Mallory nodded her head, then picked up the paper she was writing out earlier, "Look, this here is my write up report on you. I'm not gonna pass it in. I'm gonna give you a warning now. But please don't defy me again or not only will this get passed in but the cops will be called. I don't want that to happen."

"Nothing even happened last night. I wouldn't get in trouble," Jim told her honestly but in a harsh tone, "She was smashed so she slept on my bed and I crashed on the floor. And I told her to wait in my room until after practice so I could drive her home. Way to jump to conclusions."

"You can't blame me for jumping to conclusions, Jim," Mallory got defensive, "You're a young guy and she's a pretty girl."

"How did you even know she was in my room? Did you go in my room or something?" Jim got mad at the thought.

"No!" Mallory got angry now, "She was leaving your room for something and I saw her. Who the hell do you think I am?"

"You? Who the hell do you think I am? I'm not gonna have sex with some under-aged girl," Jim told her, "And I don't regret bringing her back to my room last night so I'm not going to promise you that it won't happen again."

Jim was being an ass and unreasonable and Mallory didn't really care anymore, "You know what, whatever. Just make sure you guys don't do it."

"She doesn't do it with every guy that looks at her. She isn't like you, Mal," Jim insulted her.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Mallory pointed to the door, gesturing for him to leave. She didn't even want to look at him.

"Too bad," he said coolly before leaving the room, and slamming the door behind him.

**You know what to do **


	14. You're So Vain

**LTJM: Thanks for reviewing! There will be some more Mallory/Jim/Elizabeth stuff in this chapter too!**

**Septembrisms: Thanks for the review! I think you'll like this chapter because there are some more confrontations with Elizabeth and Mallory, with a tint of Jim too!**

**Peachy65: Thanks for reviewing! I still listen to some albums too haha, they're my parents but we have the same taste in music so it's all good. And thanks for liking the real life facts. I'm actually like OCD when it comes to small facts. Like I look up movies and that Rolling Stone issue from a few chapters ago was a real issue! I'm happy you appreciate that!**

**Lulu: Thanks for the review!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for reviewing! I had that confrontation with those girls at the bus for a long time and that line about bus riders was the first thing I thought of. I take the bus and public transit like all the time so I knew that would be a mean thing to say! I'm glad you liked it!**

**AN: Thanks for all your amazing reviews! I loved them. Here's the next chapter. I start school pretty soon but I'm going to try to post like two more chapters before it gets into serious work. I don't know how much I'll be able to post but I'm going to try my hardest. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this one!**

**Chapter 14**

The rest of the week went on without any more confrontations between Mallory and Jim. Then that weekend the new girls moved onto the floor, much to the excitement of the guys, for the beginning of the fall semester. It was the end of August, classes had begun, and it was less than two weeks until the guys left for Europe.

**Beep, Beep, Beep**

OC groaned with his face in the pillow. He was just awoken from a great sleep. He rubbed his eyes open and turned off the alarm. The hockey player looked over to the other side of the small bed and saw nothing but blonde locks. Mallory's body faced the other side. OC silently counted to five and took a deep breath. He then got out of bed and began looking for his clothes, which were scattered all throughout the room thanks to Mallory.

Finding his underwear, pants, socks and shoes didn't take to much time. But his shirt was a different story. He looked on the bed again and all the movement woke Mallory up. She rolled over to face OC.

"Hey, come back to bed," she said in a groggy voice.

"I have practice," he muttered, not looking up at her.

"Ok," she shrugged, while looking at the clock in her room. It was pretty early.

"Mal, have you seen my….shirt?" he paused when he looked at Mallory lying in bed. She was wearing it.

"Sorry," she chuckled as she sat up in bed, "You know I just don't like sleeping…"

"Naked," OC finished her sentence. When she sat up he noticed she put on some underwear too, "It's fine."

"I liked watching you look for the shirt though. You've got one hell of a six-pack," Mallory giggled, as she began taking off his shirt.

"No," Jack put his hand up and shook his head, "You can keep it."

"Really?" Mallory was confused. Keeping one's clothing was a big step in a relationship. She didn't even know if they had one.

"Yeah," OC told her, "I kind of wanna know how these Gopher fans will handle seeing it."

"Okay," the blonde laughed nervously, kind of disappointed that was his reasoning.

"Tell me how it goes," OC grinned at Mallory, "I gotta get going. See you later."

"Later," she nodded him off.

OC left the room without a shirt on. A couple seconds later he went into his room that he shared with Rizzo. His roommate was also just getting out of bed.

"Hey, man. You lose your shirt?" Rizzo snorted at the site of his shirtless roommate.

"Nah, man," he shook his head and looked down at his feet, "I leant it to Mallory."

"Hope she gives it back. Jessica never did," Rizzo teased.

"Don't…"OC began, "Don't talk about Jess."

"Sorry man," Rizzo put his hands up in defense.

"Whatever, man. Let's just get ready for practice," OC shrugged.

…

Practice was pretty average today. Elizabeth was practicing before them, which made the guys think she was beginning school and needed to get in a practice before classes started. She also had an angry look on her face which the guys figured only strengthened the going back to school theory. After practice the guys showered off in the locker rooms and were getting ready to leave.

"Elizabeth looked pissed getting off the ice today," Rizzo said aloud to no one in particular.

"She looks pissed everyday," Pav joked, "What's the difference?"

"I still don't believe the story you told us from last week. About getting drunk with her," Bah told Phil and Silk.

"It's true!" Phil exclaimed, then added, "I still can't believe you got Elizabeth in your room and you didn't do anything, Jimmy."

"Dude, she's jailbait!" Jim rolled his eyes.

"Not for long," OC added in a sing-songy voice.

"September 18th," Silk recalled, "What if you see her after we get back to Europe?"

"I don't know," Jim rolled his eyes and looked down.

"Come on, would you invite her over?" OC teased.

"I can invite her over now. Just not at night. Mallory never said anything about daytime," Jim told them.

"Are you gonna push that?" Mark asked.

"Maybe," Jim thought about it and chuckled.

After Jim finished getting dressed, he grabbed his gear and headed out of the locker room. He usually gave people rides but he figured he'd wait for people in his car. He really didn't want to talk about Elizabeth anymore. After walking through the arena, he wished he had stayed in the locker room. Low and behold Elizabeth was there and she saw him. Feeling obligated, Jim walked up to her to say hello.

"Hey Elizabeth," Jim was surprised to see her, "Doesn't school start soon?"

"Next week," she replied, looking at the ice and not him, "Why are _they_ here?"

"The pee-wee team?" Jim asked.

"They're the ones on the ice," Elizabeth rolled her eyes; "I wanted to practice. I overslept and didn't get to practice as long as I wanted."

"I don't think you can," Jim tried.

"I know! Fuckin' kids," Elizabeth shrugged.

Jim gave her a 'what the hell' look and Elizabeth shook her head and rolled her eyes. Jim always seemed to be there to keep her on point. Sometimes she really hated that.

"Sorry. I'm just...frustrated," the brunette girl sighed.

"Did you get in trouble from your coach or something for not coming home that night last week?" the goalie asked.

"No," Elizabeth shrugged, "She has a new boyfriend, so she doesn't notice. I hope they don't break up until after I turn eighteen. Then it wouldn't matter anymore."

"Oh, uh, that's good I guess," Jim didn't know what to say.

"So, what crazy things are you guys planning on doing tonight?" Elizabeth chuckled, trying to change subjects. She wished she didn't bring up her coach.

"We're gonna go out to a club with the new girls on the floor," Jim told her.

"Ohhh, that sounds like so much fun!" Elizabeth gave a high pitched voice that sounded fake, "I wish I could go…"

Jim paused for a moment. She was actually pretty fun to hang out with when she was loose. But could he risk getting in trouble with Mallory? Maybe he could push it with Mallory a bit, see how far he could go without getting in trouble.

"Well I guess you can come, if you want," he sighed.

"Thank you!" she grinned.

"But I'll drive you home. You can't stay over because of…"

"That bitch, Molly!" the blue eyed girl finished his sentence.

"It's Mallory and yeah she's the RA," Jim smirked.

"Whatever screw her," Elizabeth shook her head, "Is she going to come tonight?"

"Probably," Jim wasn't sure.

"Well than I'll ignore her. But if she says something I'm going to say something back," Elizabeth warned.

"She probably won't care unless you go home with Jim," OC, who just left the locker room and was walking by with Mark, joined the conversation, "You just can't stay the night."

"She's not that bad, Mallory I mean," Mark added.

"I don't care!" Elizabeth exclaimed, "You can pick me up tonight I guess from here."

"Why not at your house?" Jim asked.

"My coach and her boyfriend are there…" Elizabeth rolled her eyes, she thought they were done talking about that, "And unless I find something else to do I'm gonna stay here and watch pee-wees. Ohhhh, maybe I can hang out with you guys! It would save you a ride!"

"Yeeeah," Jim said slowly. Meanwhile OC made a weird chocking chuckle and Mark dropped his jaw a little bit.

"Okay, let's go," Elizabeth smiled as she began walking out.

The guys stood still and quiet for a moment. Once Elizabeth was outside and out of ear shot, OC spoke up.

"That just happened," OC pointed to the direction that Elizabeth left in.

"What the hell happened, Jim?" Mark was stunned.

"She invited herself!" Jim tried, "Did you just see that?"

"Did she invite herself tonight also?" OC asked, not mad at Jim but at Elizabeth.

"Basically. She asked what we were doing and like guilted me into asking her," Jim explained, "Maybe she won't be that bad. I mean last time she was fun."

"True," Mark nodded.

"Let's just keep her away from Mal," OC warned.

"You guys coming?" Elizabeth shouted at the guys. She was waiting outside and came in to get them.

"Yep," OC said slowly and sadly.

"She won't be that bad…hopefully," Jim tried.

"We'll help you out, man," Mark offered

"Yeah," OC nodded in agreement.

The guys all walked towards Elizabeth and once they got to her the foursome left together. Jim drove them back and once they got to the floor they all went to Mark and Mac's room. They didn't see Mallory anywhere and her door was closed, so she must've been in class. The guys kept their door open and they talked and watched a baseball game on TV.

"Hey guys," they were interrupted by two cute girls hanging out in their doorway.

"Hi," all the guys immediately stopped their conversation and greeted them.

"We were just wondering what club we're going to tonight," one of the smiled shyly.

"The CC Club, I think," OC replied, "But I'm not positive."

"Okay, well just let us know," the other girl told them.

"You bet I will!" OC smirked and winked.

"Who's that girl with you? Are you on our floor too?" the first girl asked.

"No," Elizabeth shook her head, "I'm Elizabeth."

"Hi Elizabeth! I'm Katie and this is Becky," she replied, "Hope to see you tonight!"

Katie and Becky walked off and the guys checked them out as they went. They were all smiling, even Elizabeth. All the girls in high school were all so catty. They seemed really nice. Maybe she should hangout with college people more often. Then they saw Mallory stopping outside the door. She was trying to get into her room, which was directly across Mark and Mac's. OC got up and walked over to greet her.

"Hey Mal, looking good in my BU shirt," OC smirked.

"Yeah. I kinda got weird looks on campus all day because of it," Mallory giggled.

"Then my work is done," the defenseman teased.

Mallory rolled her eyes and playfully hit him on the arm, "Jerk!"

Jack laughed then switched topics, "So you free tonight? Everyone on the floor is going out to…"

Before the hockey player could finish the pair outside heard someone groan "No" from inside the room. It sounded like a female voice and since the only girl in that room was Elizabeth, the couple deduced it was her. Mallory and Jack both gave her confused and annoyed looks. Mallory wished she could do something, but she didn't make any rules about under aged people during the day and she kept her word. Unless they were alone together she wouldn't do anything.

"I hate her," she whispered, loudly enough for everyone to hear, to Jim, "She's like obsessed with me. She wants me nowhere near this floor at night. Too bad it's the middle of the day bitch!"

"I can't I'm busy tonight," she gave Jack a half-hearted smile, then pecked him on the lips, "I gotta go, but I'll see you later."

She walked away from the scene and everyone was surprised by her actions. They were all shocked she didn't cuss out Elizabeth or anything. They thought that she could've heard because Elizabeth was not being quiet about what she said. Maybe she didn't hear, or maybe she didn't care.

"Elizabeth," Jim sighed, "You're lucky she didn't hear you."

"So what? I hope she did! You hate her too I don't see why you're defending her," Elizabeth accused.

"I'm not!" Jim got defensive, "She just has a lot of power. She can get us in a lot of trouble..."

"I don't care! Obviously not many people like her if her boyfriend over there was flirting with those other girls," Elizabeth pointed out.

"Hey," Mark interrupted, "I can't stop you guys from talking about Mal, but if you want to then don't do it here."

"Wait, what?" OC finally joined the conversation. He was too busy check out Mallory from across the way as she entered her dorm.

"Nothing," Elizabeth, Jim, and Mark said in unison.

Suddenly music began playing from inside Mallory's room, which had its door slightly ajar. It wasn't that surprising because she played music all the time, but once the lyrics began playing everyone in the room stopped talking to listen.

"What song is this?" Elizabeth asked.

"Shhhh," OC quieted her down.

_You had one eye in the mirror  
As you watched yourself gavotte  
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner  
They'd be your partner, and  
You're so vain_

_You probably think this song is about you_

_You're so vain!_

It was Carly Simon's "You're So Vain". OC began cracking up because he knew who Mallory played this song for. Mallory wasn't stupid; Jack knew that she heard Elizabeth. Mark tried to be nice and control his laughter, but seeing OC laugh didn't help. After about thirty seconds he began cracking up too. Elizabeth and Jim didn't find this very humorous. Elizabeth just sat quiet on the ground with her jaw dropped a little. Mallory was trying to embarrass her, and that pissed her off.

"You shouldn't have said that in front of her," Jim coolly whispered in her ear.

During the first chorus a few of the new girls on the floor began walking by. When they heard the song being played the all laughed and smiled. They didn't know who it addressed, they just liked the song. They knocked on Mallory's slightly ajar door so they would be able to go into her room to hear the song. The RA happily let them in. This time she left the door more than halfway open just in case other people wanted to come in.

When the girls got inside the room, Mallory began singing and dancing along with the song. The other girls joined her. Soon more girls from the floor began to join in on the impromptu dance party.

"_You're so vain!_" the girls all sang together and pointed to represent the 'you'. Elizabeth saw this and was almost certain that Mallory was looking and pointing at her for one of them.

Elizabeth glared at Mallory but it didn't really mean anything to the RA. Mallory then closed the door and the girls all sang and danced until the song was over.

"Ughhh I hate her!" Elizabeth shrugged.

"Let's just go back to watching the game," Mark tried to switch topics.

"Good idea," OC chuckled, still laughing a bit about what just happened.

"Fine," Elizabeth groaned, as if she was forced to stay here. OC rolled his eyes at Elizabeth. She invited herself over.

"Good idea, Mark," Jim said quietly.

When the song ended there was no more music coming from the room but instead some chitter chatter and laughter could be heard from behind the door. Mallory said since the new girls moved in that she wanted to get to know them and now was her chance. The group just ignored them and continued watching the game on TV. OC even raised the volume so he didn't have to hear the girl talk from Mallory's room or Elizabeth complaining about it.

"Hey guys," Verchota greeted everyone as he walked into the room with Mac and Silky.

"What's up?" OC nodded at Silk and Verchota before turning his head back towards the screen.

"Not much," Silk replied, and then asked with a coy smile, "Where are all the girls? I wanna find out which ones are single."

"I don't know where _all_ of them are, but a lot are in Mallory's room," Mark answered.

"They had a dance party," OC chuckled, "With the door opened. It was a pretty great view."

"And I missed it?" Verchota sounded genuinely disappointed.

"Sorry, man," OC grinned.

"The song she picked sucked!" Elizabeth added her two cents.

"Who cares about the song! We missed hot girls dancing," Mac groaned.

"Well we can see them tonight at the club," Silk tried to make himself and his teammates feel better.

Mallory's door opened and the girls started filing out, laughing and talking. The guys in the room all watched them go.

"Hey ladies, you excited for tonight?" Silk yelled at the door at them. It was Katie and Becky.

"We aren't going anymore," Katie answered.

"We're having a girl's night with Mallory. 'The Turning Point' is coming back into theaters for one night only," Becky explained.

"'The Turning Point', you mean that ballerina movie?" Verchota sounded annoyed.

"Yeah," Katie nodded with a smile, "We'll all hangout together. Just as a floor though…"

The pair walked away and Mallory was the last one to leave her room. Instead of following the other girls she leaned into Mark and Robbie's doorway.

"So, I'm sorry about that. I guess they want to hang out with someone a little more…mature," she sarcastically apologized looking right at Elizabeth, then turned to the guys, "You guys can chill with high school over there. But you need to make sure she gets home early. It is a school night."

She winked at Elizabeth before walking off to meet up with the other girls.

"And_ that's_ why you can't insult people when they're right there," Mark looked at the ice skater.

"Whatever," Elizabeth shrugged and got up, "She's just a bitch and a sour puss. And I don't like people who are either. I'm going home…"

Jim shrugged and stood up. He didn't really want to, but he already told her that he'd take her home. He wasn't the type of person who would bail on a promise.

"Let's go," he motioned Elizabeth towards the door.

Elizabeth left the room first and before Jim left he turned to his teammates and gave them an apologetic look. The guys nodded in acknowledgement and knew his real punishment for not shutting Elizabeth up near Mallory was the fact that he had to take her home and spend one-on-one time with her.

"I miss her from that night at the bar!" Silk sighed, "She was hilarious!"

"She was drunk!" Mark laughed.

"I wish I had been there. I think she's only okay with you guys because you took her to the bar. Everyone else she's still weird to," Mac explained, "But she's hot so I just put her on mute when she talks."

"Same," Verchota and OC said in unison.

They guys continued talking and watching the game in Mark and Mac's room. Gradually over time more guys on the team began showing up. It was well known that Mark and Mac had the best TV on the floor; most of them had cheap old black-and-whites.

"Mallory gave Elizabeth like a triple burn," OC was retelling the story to some of the guys not there, "It was epic."

"Sounds awesome," Bah chuckled.

"Yeah epic until your little girlfriend decided to have a girl's night. None of the girls are coming out with us anymore," Mac said coolly.

"Hey just because _you_ couldn't hold on to her…" OC began to get into it. Rizzo was quick to break it up.

"Hey, so even though the girls aren't going we're still going out right?" Rizzo tried.

"Yes."

"Of course."

"Definitely."

"There are girls at the club."

Random voices came from all areas of the room so Rizzo didn't even know who answered. He just replied to no one in particular, "Good."

Just then Jim came back into the room. He had just returned from dropping Elizabeth off. He saw a lot more guys in the room and they all looked at him as he walked in. He assumed rightly that they heard what happened.

"I'm sorry about Elizabeth, guys. I had no idea she'd go off like that," Jim apologized to the whole group.

"It's not your fault, Jim. No one could've called that," OC assured his friend.

"I think that she shouldn't come back to the dorms for a while," Mark suggested, "Maybe she can come after we get back from Europe. But this needs to blow over."

"Besides at that point she turns eighteen so Mallory can't stop her from coming over anyways," Silk chuckled.

"Yeah, Magic, you're right," Jim nodded, "Sorry again guys."

The guys all nodded in acceptance. They could just hang out with the girls another night, this time without Elizabeth.

"Wanna go over to Mario's or something?" the goalie suggested.

"Sure."

"That's cool."

"Let's go."

The guys got up and as they were walking out OC joked, "Hope we don't run into Elizabeth again! It's like we always see her."

"We better not!" Silky agreed, "That girl is everywhere."

"Well she won't be here until after Europe," Verchota nudged Jim, "Right, Jimmy?"

"Whatever," Jim chuckled, brushing him off.


	15. Danke Schoen

**LTJM: Thanks for reviewing! These next two chapters have a lot of OC and Mallory. I hope you like it! **

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for the review! No more Elizabeth and Mallory clashing for a while, unfortunately, but there's more in the future!**

**Septembrisms: Thanks for reviewing! There will be a lot of OC and Mallory in the next two chapters, but no Elizabeth for a while. She'll have her moment though, not yet, but soon!**

**Lulu: Thanks for the review!**

**Peachy65: Thanks for reviewing! Mallory and Elizabeth will have more stuff in the future. Elizabeth won't be in it for a while but she'll be back with a lot of stuff in store. There's more to her than meets the eye ;)**

**Birdcrap: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like Mallory. She'll be in the next few chapters coming up!**

**AN: Thanks for all your amazing reviews! I'm so happy you like this story so far. This chapter is shorter than my past few but this is pretty much final build up for the next chapter. I'm really excited because I've been building up to this for a while and it's now all coming together and I'm so happy you like it! Anyways, enough of my babbling, hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 15**

Time flew by and before the guys knew it Europe came approaching really fast. They were leaving the following evening. For their last night in the States for two weeks most of the guys had plans. OC figured that he would be spending the night in Mallory's room like he had been doing almost every night for the past couple of weeks. OC watched TV and kept his door open so he could see Mallory coming back from class. When he saw Mallory eventually return the dorms, she went right into his room, with a pissed off look on her face.

"Hey, are we hanging out tonight?" OC asked, confirming what he thought would happen. He ignored her facial expression.

"Yeah. I ran into someone I know and she practically forced a dinner on us," Mallory shrugged.

"Us? How did I get involved?" the hockey player was annoyed.

"This girl, Maureen, she's like obsessed with her boyfriend. And she asked me how my love life was and I said I was seeing you. And now she insists on meeting you," the blonde explained, "Like a double date or something."

"Well can't you bail? I mean I don't feel like going out with _your_ friends," OC complained.

"She's not my friend, Jack. She just thinks she is. And so what? We've never gone out together," Mallory told him.

"Yes we have!" OC tried.

"Jack, all the time we've been together we've only hung out in my room or as a group," Mallory said, "And I don't want to go out with her either but I can't get out of it now. I'm sorry."

OC took a deep breath and thought for a moment. Mallory was right. They only really hung out in her room. When Jack didn't reply at first, Mallory just assumed he was too mad to talk. She shook her head and began to walk away.

"Hey Mal, wait!" OC called out to her.

Mallory turned back and stopped at the door again, "What?"

"I'm…I'm sorry. I'll go out with you," OC apologized.

"Thanks," Mallory said softly as she looked down to her feet.

"What's so bad about Maureen and her boyfriend anyways?" OC questioned.

"They're such a couple," she sighed as she walked into the room, feeling more comfortable, "And they master the couple's story."

"What's that?"

"It's like when a couple tells a story and they keep completing each other's sentences and laughing at their own jokes and they're the only ones that find it funny," Mallory explained.

"That's obnoxious," OC sighed.

"Exactly!" Mallory agreed and pointed to OC, "Now I gotta go study. But come by and pick me up around sevenish."

"Okay," OC got up and was only a few feet from her, "Come here."

Mallory took one step and was only inches away from Jack. He put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her on the mouth.

"Alright, scram," he smirked.

Mallory gave a small smile and nodded at him, "See you at seven."

Mallory left OC's room and he went back to watching TV. He laid back on his bed with his arms crossed. He was really bothered by the fact that he had to go out tonight. He didn't want to at all. He gave in to Mallory's request but why did Mallory mention him at all? Were they in a relationship? OC was caught up in his thoughts until his roommate, Rizzo, walked in.

"Hey, man," Rizzo nodded at his roommate.

"What's up?" OC snapped out of his thoughts.

"So, dude, should I expect you home tonight?" Rizzo chuckled.

"Absolutely not," OC grinned.

"I guess you and Mallory are spending your last night in," Rizzo suggested.

"Well mostly. We have to go out with another couple beforehand. It sucks because I don't know them," OC complained.

"Did she just force that on you?" Rizzo asked.

"Basically," OC nodded, "But I guess I have to go."

"It's part of the burden if you want it regularly," Rizzo laughed.

"Exactly!" OC agreed and pointed to his roommate, mimicking what Mallory had done before.

"Whatever," Rizzo sighed, "If you wanna bail I'll be here playing poker with Mark, Pav, and Bah."

"I might take you up on that," OC shrugged not seriously. He already told Mallory he'd go and if he wanted any action that night from her than he had to go.

OC and Rizzo hung out in their room until OC had to get Mallory. He didn't want to put any effort into the evening so he wore the same clothes that he left practice with. But the hockey player did show up to Mallory's room a few minutes early. The door was slightly ajar as always so he knocked twice and let himself in. The RA was standing in front of the mirror putting her hair up in a bun. When OC entered she looked up.

"Hey, you're early," Mallory greeted him.

"I figure the quicker we get there than the quicker we leave," OC said unenthusiastically.

"Hey it may not be so bad," Mallory tried as she walked over to him, "And we can spend some time together before you leave."

"Well I wanted to spend my last night here with just you, but at least we'll be together. It can't be that long anyways," OC tried to convince himself.

"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow. You're going to be two weeks?" Mallory asked sadly.

"Yeah," OC nodded, he was actually excited to be going away.

"I'm mad you aren't going to German. I could've taught you some German," she joked.

"What could you have taught me?" he teased.

"I don't know, little sayings, like _danke schoen_," Mallory smirked.

"That sounds familiar. What does that mean again?" OC asked.

"Thank you," Mallory answered, "And it should sound familiar, it's a song by Wayne Newton."

Mallory rushed over to her wall of records and began perusing. After a couple seconds she found what she was looking for, "Bingo!"

"Do you own every record ever created?" Jack joked.

"No," Mallory chuckled, "I don't own ABBA."

Mallory took the album out of the cover and tossed the cover on the bed so OC could see it. She then put the album into her record player. She didn't put the needle on the record to start it yet.

"Is the door closed?" she smiled.

OC looked back. He did close it when he walked in. He nodded his head.

"Good," she giggled, "Sit on the bed. I owe ya for making you go out tonight."

OC sat on the bed quickly. Mallory put the needle on the record and it began playing in the background.

_Danke Schoen, darling Danke Schoen.  
Thank you for all the joy and pain_.

Mallory took her hair out of her messy bun and spun her head around. She then walked seductively over to him.

"_Picture shows, second balcony, was the place we'd meet, second seat, go Dutch treat, you were sweet,"_ she began singing along to the song, which didn't make much difference because Wayne Newton sounded like a woman in the song anyways.

As she sang along with the song she began taking her clothes off with the beats. First she kicked off her flip flops, then she slowly removed her top, and finally she unzipped her jeans and left them on the ground. When she got down to her bra and panties she sat on his lap so that they were facing each other.

"_I recall, Central Park in fall, how you tore your dress, what a mess, I confess, that's not all,"_ the blonde continued to sing along as she began to give him a lap dance. The lap dance lasted until the end of the song.

"I'll show you the rest after dinner," she whispered into his ear at the end of the song.

"You're such a tease," he told her jokingly.

Mallory got off his lap and began putting her clothes on again.

"So did you like that language lesson?" Mallory smiled as she slipped on her jeans.

"Danke schoen for giving them to me," OC teased.

Mallory laughed and he gave a big grin. She gave him a peck on the lips, "You're very welcome. Or should I say Bitte schön!"

Once Mallory finished getting re-dressed she decided to keep her hair down and the pair walked out the door. OC put his arm around her shoulder as they walked down the hall.

"Damn, I wish we were going to Germany now!" he joked.

…

Later that night Rizzo, Mark, Pav, and Bah were playing poker in Rizzo's room like Rizzo said they would. Rizzo set up a table and chairs in the center of the room and they kept the door open just in case anyone else from the team wanted to join them. As they were playing, Rizzo told the guys about what Mallory and OC were up to, leaving his teammates befuddled.

"So are Mallory and OC like, uh, a coupe now?" Mark was confused. They never went on dates. They always stayed in or would go out separately.

"I don't know," Rizzo told them honestly.

"Well they're going on a double date. When girl's do that than they think you're an item," Bah added.

"I've had girlfriends that I've gone on double dates with," Pav answered, "I feel for OC not knowing the other couple."

"Has OC ever labeled what they are?" Bah asked curiously.

"Nope," Rizzo shook his head, "He doesn't really talk about her at all actually."

Just then Rizzo saw his roommate and Mallory walking through the hall. They must've just got back from the double date. They were holding hands.

"Hey guys," OC nodded to the guys in his room playing poker. Mallory stood next to him smiling at her hall mates.

"Hey how was the dinner?" Rizzo asked from inside his room.

"Awful," OC yelled back.

"Worst people ever!" Mallory groaned. Her smile turned upside down.

Mallory and OC went inside Rizzo and OC's room to chat with the guys playing poker.

"What happened?" Bah asked.

"The couple we went with kept going on and on about that damn cat," Mallory rolled her eyes.

"That cat they adopted," OC shrugged, "They wouldn't…"

"Shut up about it!" Mallory completed his sentence and laughed, "I know right!"

"What cat?" Rizzo asked.

"And remember when Maureen kept going on and on about trying to find the cat after it scratched out the curtains?" OC ignored his roommate's question.

"That was the worst!" Mallory laughed, and then explained to the guys, "These people adopted this cat from the shelter…"

"And that's all they talked about the whole night!" OC laughed, "It was horrible!"

Mallory and OC both laughed just thinking about it. The guys playing poker didn't react at all. When the couple looked at them they started to do a fake, unenthusiastic, low laugh. Once the couple stopped laughing, so did the guys.

"All right. We'll see you later I guess," Mallory told them.

"Later guys," OC said bye to his friends.

"Bye," they all said in unison.

Mallory and OC left the room and walked down the hallway. They were confused for a second walking down the hallway. Then a light bulb went off in their heads. They both walked into Mallory's room knowing what they had done. They did the unspeakable. They told a couple's story. The pair was embarrassed and confused. They weren't an official couple or anything so why would they tell one?

"So, uh, how about we just sleep?" OC suggested. He didn't want to be physical with her after that. That's what a couple would do.

"Good idea," Mallory agreed, not looking him directly in the eye.

The blonde turned off the lights and they both went to bed in their clothes, with no plans on removing them. Both laid awake thinking of what had happened and what it had meant, but after a while both fell asleep, facing opposite directions and with no contact with each other.

Mallory woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Jack was always the one closest to the edge while Mallory was against the wall, so the girl had to crawl down the bed to not disturb the guy sleeping next to her. By now she had mastered this and managed to get off the bed without a sound. Mallory went to the bathroom and even the sound of the flushing toilet didn't wake him.

The blonde left the bathroom and guided her way through the darkness of the room. Once she found her way back to the end of her bed she was about to crawl in when she heard Jack mutter something in his sleep.

"Jess…Jess…Jessica."


	16. Dream a Little Dream of Me

**Peachy65: Thanks for the review! I love Ferris Bueller too! That's where I got the idea for this song **

**LTJM: Thanks for reviewing! I'm happy you liked it. The Jessica situation will be talked about in detail this chapter!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for the review! OC was a typical guy last chapter and he shows some of that in this chapter too. Hope you like it!**

**Lulu: Thanks for reviewing!**

**Septembrisims: Thanks for the review! Yeah they did have couple's behavior and it scared them quite a bit! I hate couples that do that!**

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews! Here it is! Sorry it's taken so long. I'm starting classes but I'm hoping to still update every Saturday/ Sunday. Anyways, I've planned this chapter out for a long time, I really hope you like it. **

**Chapter 16**

_Stars shining bright above you;_

_Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you."_

_Birds singing in the sycamore tree._

_Dream a little dream of me._

Jack's eyes fluttered open and he immediately shut them. He was awake involuntarily, having been woken up by a song. He still laid in the same position he was in but moved one hand to where Mallory slept. Her side was empty and cold, meaning she hadn't been there in a while. Jack then opened his eyes again, this time with haste. He saw a small light on in the corner and saw the record player was on. He finally saw Mallory. She was sitting against the wall farthest from the bed and smoking a cigarette.

_Say nighty-night and kiss me;  
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me._

"Is it morning?" OC asked groggily, looking at Mallory but fighting the urge to close his eyes again.

"No," she shook her head slowly, looking at her feet instead of the guy in her bed.

"Then come back to bed," OC yawned.

"I can't do that, OC," she said sadly, "I can't do this anymore."

"Why?" Jack asked. He was confused, she never called him OC.

"Because you're still in love with Jessica," Mallory answered bluntly before taking another huff from her cigarette.

_While I'm alone, blue as can be,  
Dream a little dream of me._

Jack immediately woke from his half asleep state after hearing the name Jessica. He shot up and stayed sitting up in her bed. Mallory clearly didn't want to be near OC right now, as evidenced by her being at the opposite end of the room. How did Mallory know about Jessica?

"How did…?" OC was breathless.

The blonde interrupted him, "You said her name in your sleep."

"But how did you know about her in, uh, the first place?" OC found it hard to find the words.

"Rizzo," she replied.

OC gave an even more shocked face than before. Rizzo was supposed to be his best friend and he asked him repeatedly not to talk about Jessica. Why the hell would he tell Mallory of all people? He didn't even want his new teammates to know.

"Don't be mad at Rizzo!" Mallory tried to calm him down, "It was at that wedding we went to. We were both really drunk off tequila. He didn't even remember he told me and when I reminded him he made me swear not to tell."

Mallory was so impressed by her lie that even she was convinced of it for a second. The truth was that they were both sobering up when Rizzo told her about Jessica and he only said something because he felt bad after sleeping with Mallory in the first place. She would never bring up that one night stand though.

"Oh…"that was the only word that OC could think of saying.

Neither of them talked for what felt like an hour. In reality it was only a few minutes. The only thing heard in the room was the sound of the song playing on Mallory's record player. It was The Mamas and the Papa's version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me". Mallory always managed to pick music that captured the mood of a situation. Right now, this song was hauntingly ironic.

_But in your dreams, whatever they be,  
Dream a little dream of me._

Once the song was over there was no sound at all in the room. Neither could find the words to say. They both knew this was never meant to work and both were in denial about it. Mallory didn't even look at OC. She was smoking her cigarette and studying a spot on the ground. OC on the other hand was studying Mallory's every movement. She looked the most upset you could without breaking down into tears.

"Mallory," he said softly, "I'm so sorry."

OC used her and he knew it. He looked at her as an escape, as someone he could use to get over Jessica. But deep down he knew that he couldn't and wouldn't get over her. He was trying to deny it. No one can control their dreams and he dreamed about Jessica almost every night he was with Mallory.

"Don't be," Mallory replied, finally looking at him, "It's my fault. I knew about Jessica all this time. I just didn't want to believe it."

Mallory then looked away from Jack again. She tried to hide her face and took another huff from her cigarette. She was so embarrassed. This was her worst nightmare for this whole situation with Jack and it was finally coming true. She gave into temptation and knew that OC was damaged goods. The blonde knew that she should've known better. She shouldn't have gone into a sexual relationship with him. She just wanted to be close with somebody again. She just felt so alone at times. She hoped that this sexual relationship would develop into more. She was more naïve than she thought.

"Mal," he tried to make her feel better, "I always cared about you. It's just…"

"You care about Jessica more," she finished his sentence.

"I really tried to make this work…" Jack said honestly.

Mallory took a deep breath in and swallowed her pride, "Me too. But after what I heard tonight…I can't be second choice. I can't be that girl you settle for. I…I…I won't be."

It was silent again in the room. By now Mallory had finished her cigarette. She got up from sitting against the wall and threw it away in the trash. OC watched her the whole time. She then sat on the foot of her bed, still keeping some distance from Jack, who was at the top with his body against an upright pillow.

"God, you're pretty," OC used this line before.

"Saying that won't change how you feel, OC," she said sadly. She couldn't call him Jack anymore, she couldn't think of him in that way.

"I know," he looked down, "I just feel like an asshole."

"You and me both. We both know we shouldn't have done this. You weren't in the right emotional state and I took advantage," she analyzed their 'relationship'.

"Mallory," he addressed her seriously, "You never took advantage. This here, this isn't your fault."

"No matter what you tell me I'm not going to feel better," she told him, "Maybe you should just leave…"

"Okay," he nodded slowly. He figured the only nice thing he could do for her at this point was to leave her alone. She was always independent in his eyes anyways. She can deal with this herself.

OC got out of bed and stayed standing for a moment. He didn't know if he should do anything. She looked upset, but she clearly didn't want to be touched by him so he couldn't hug her.

"What…what should I tell the guys?" OC asked.

"Tell them we were busy and called it quits," she replied.

OC sighed and nodded, "I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah," she gave a small and sad smile, "I wish we weren't so stupid."

"Me too," OC said softly and repeated, "Me too."

OC walked out of her room knowing that that would be the last time they would be alone together. He went back to his room and saw Rizzo was sound asleep. He closed the door slowly and went over to his. He laid on his back taking in everything that just happened. He didn't sleep for the rest of the night. He felt horrible about what he did to Mallory, but at the same time knew he had to follow his own heart.

It was always going to be Jessica.

A couple hours passed and the sun came out. The sunlight from the outside came bursting in to OC and Rizzo's room. Rizzo, always an early riser, woke up not too long after the sun came out. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was OC lying in his bed reading.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he was very surprised, "I thought you'd be with Mallory."

"We broke up," he told him, "I'm still in love with Jessica."

"Well it took you long enough to figure that out," Rizzo told him. He knew his best friend better than he knew himself.

"Mallory realized that before I did," OC sighed, "She told me that you told her the night of the wedding when you were drunk. Don't worry I'm not mad at you or anything. She told me you begged her not to tell."

Rizzo's heart skipped a beat. For a second he thought that she told OC about their one night stand. Clearly she lied to OC and kept her word of not telling a soul.

"I'm so sorry," Rizzo said.

"Nah, it's not your fault," OC told him, "Tequila is rough."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, then OC spoke up again, "If people ask than say that we broke up because we were busy."

"Okay," Rizzo nodded, "Are you, uh, gonna call Jessica? Since you still have feelings for her and all…"

"In two weeks, after we get back from Europe," OC quickly replied. He really thought this through.

"Good idea," Rizzo encouraged his friend.

"It's still pretty early for practice," OC looked at the clock, "Wanna go out for breakfast or something?"

"Sure," Rizzo replied.

Practice wasn't very long that day because Herb knew the guys had to pack and get ready for Europe. The bus to the airport was picking the guys up from the dorm at four o'clock. After going out to eat for lunch, the guys got back to the dorms to pack. Mallory was in classes and didn't return to the room until half past three. Rizzo saw her door slightly open and jumped at the chance to talk to her. He had a lot to say and wanted to say it now rather than wait two weeks before coming back from Europe.

"Hey, can we talk?" Rizzo walked into his RA's room. She was sitting at her desk studying.

"Close the door," she told him.

Rizzo shut the door and sat down on Mallory's bed. Mallory didn't look very happy to see him.

"Go ahead," she sighed, "Wanna tell me you were right? Say it. Or maybe I will. Rizzo, you were right."

"I wasn't going to do that," Rizzo told her, "I wanted to tell you that I was sorry it didn't work out between you and OC."

"Does everyone know?" Mallory was embarrassed. Her face turned to a shade of red.

"Only me and OC know the real reason you broke up," Rizzo assured her.

"Why did you come here? You were always so…mean to me about it," the blonde said.

"I wasn't trying to be!" Rizzo defended, "I was trying to warn you. I didn't want to hurt you; I was trying to make sure you weren't getting hurt."

"Well you hurt my feelings so you didn't do a very good job," she replied.

"I'm sorry," he sighed.

"Why did you warn me in the first place? Was it because of what happened between us?" Mallory questioned.

"Yes," Rizzo answered, "I felt really bad about what happened. I know we were drunk but I didn't want you to think I was using you. I saw your face when I told you I was engaged. You were upset and I just didn't want you to feel like that again. That's why I warned you about OC, because I thought he would use you to try to get over Jessica."

"Do you think he ever really cared about me?" Mallory thought aloud.

"He did," Rizzo said sincerely, "And he feels badly that this all happened."

"Riz," she said softly, "Why did he choose me? Why not any other girl? And why was this so long?"

These were all questions she had in her head since Rizzo first told her about Jessica and she and OC were still flirting. She ignored those burning questions when she began her thing with OC but she couldn't ignore them anymore. She needed them to be answered, for her own well being.

"You're a lot like Jessica," Rizzo nodded, "You both kinda look alike and you have the same type of personality. He tried to make you a Jessica replacement."

"Good," she sighed in relief. She thought that he was using her because he was under the impression that she was loose or easy.

It was silent for a moment. Then Mallory spoke up again with more questions. The more she knew about the situation the easier she can get closure from it.

"So is he going to get back together with Jessica?"

"I think so," Rizzo replied, "He's going to call her when he gets home from Europe."

"Ohhh," she didn't know what else to say.

Rizzo heard scuffling in the hallway. The guys were beginning to bring their stuff downstairs. The hockey player looked at Mallory's clock radio and saw that it was almost four.

"I've gotta go. The bus is almost here," he excused himself.

"Have fun in Europe," she gave him a small smile, "See you in two weeks."

Rizzo got off her bed and patted her shoulder in support. Mallory didn't react at all to it. She was too busy thinking of everything that Rizzo just told her. He walked to the door and turned one last time.

"Will you be okay?" he asked her out of concern.

"I always have to be okay."


	17. The Twist

**Peachy65: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the closure between Rizzo and Mallory. A lot is going to develop in the next few chapters; it's going to be interesting.**

**Pinkshirt: Thanks for the review! This is the end of Mallory and OC, but don't worry I've got this story all planned. She's meant to be with someone on this team and as the story develops you'll see more and more who it is!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for reviewing! Jessica will be introduced in a few chapters and it's going to be a real eye opener. Rizzo won't be in this too much for a while, he made his peace with Mallory about everything.**

**LTJM: Thanks for the review! Jessica will be coming out to Minnesota in a few chapters!**

**Lulu: Thanks for reviewing!**

**Birdcrap: Thanks for the review! Jessica will be in the story in a few chapters coming up. She's an interesting character ;)**

**AN: Here's my next chapter just like I promised. I hope you all like it. I apologize ahead of time because this is heavy. I read your reviews and felt so bad that it made you guys sad. I actually consider this chapter to be a lot sadder; it was always kind of planned like this to be back to back. And one more note: I always try to make my chapter titles to be songs that are in the chapter and also the mood and stuff. This song/chapter title is my proudest so far because 'The Twist' is played and there is a twist in the story for a character! Okay enough of my babbling, enjoy!**

**Chapter 17**

Rob McClanahan laid in his bed staring up at the ceiling. The guys just got back from Europe that afternoon and they all were jet lagged and went to be around eight o'clock. It was now three am and he was wide awake now, having woken up around midnight. He needed a few days to get back to Minnesota time. Lying in bed for a while, he decided to go running. He didn't want to lie idly all night; he wanted to do something productive. And he figured that it might make him tired. So the hockey player got out of bed and quietly got dressed, making sure not to wake up his roommate Mark, who could sleep through anything. Once he finished changing he left.

Mac trotted down the stairs all the way to the lobby. When he arrived to the lobby it was completely empty until a familiar blonde walked in. It was Mallory. She had her hair in a messy bun and had glasses on. Her books were under her arms. It looked like she just returned from a long night at the library. The guys didn't see Mallory when they got back so she must've been there most of the day. She probably stayed so long to avoid OC.

Mac couldn't help but feel guilty about her getting with OC in the first place. He heard mentions on the trip that OC would be calling some ex-girlfriend of his soon and that Mallory had just been a rebound. It was Mallory's choice to go into a relationship, if she knew about the ex-girlfriend or not he wasn't sure. What he knew was that he and Phil talked a lot about her in front of the guys, about how they were together. Robbie felt bad because he thought that he put into OC's and the rest of the team's mind that Mallory was somebody that was easy. Mac didn't know everything about Mallory, or if she was easy or not, but he knew that her feelings were probably hurt by OC. Instead of telling Mallory this though, Mac just wanted to avoid her. But Mallory would never let him get away that easily.

"Hey," she sounded surprised, "I guess you're back."

"Yeah we got in this afternoon," Mac nodded unenthusiastically.

"It's three am, why are you up?" the blonde laughed.

"Time difference, I'm wide awake," Mac explained.

"Ohh. Well have fun with whatever it is you're doing," Mallory gave a small smile, about to walk away.

"What about you?" Mac asked, although he already knew the answer.

"I just got back from the library," Mallory answered.

"So you, uh, actually go to the library?" the hockey player laughed.

"What are you talking about?" the brown eyed girl was confused.

"It's just when we were hooking up you sometimes said you were going to the library. I just assumed it was another guy," Mac said honestly.

"No," Mallory rolled her eyes, with a blank expression on her face.

"I'm sorry to hear about you and OC," Mac told her, changing subjects. He wanted to make her feel good.

"No you're not," Mallory shook her head and gave a light laugh.

"Yeah, you're right," Mac chuckled, "I thought he was using you. You know, to get to me."

"It wasn't about you. We never even talked about you," the blonde replied back honestly and joked, "You almost look disappointed."

"I'm not," Mac shook his head, "Just surprised."

"We didn't talk too much, honestly. It was a more physical thing," Mallory teased, "Like us."

"I thought you told me you didn't want that," the hockey player's voice sounded a little upset. A bruised ego could do that to you.

"I didn't," Mallory explained, "I just kind of fell into it I guess. I'm actually not that type of person."

"Sure…" the hockey player laughed, "Then how do you explain us?"

Mallory paused for a moment, "I was a different person back then."

"Excuses, excuses," Mac teased.

"Whatever," the blonde gave a small smile and shook her head, "I still went to the library though."

"I betcha did," he smirked.

"Yeah," she nodded, "So…uh, this is the first time we've talked since…"

"A while," Mac finished her sentence. He didn't even want to think about that night after the club when she rejected him.

"Yeah and a lot happened after that too…" she reminisced on when he called her sloppy seconds and she got Heather to slap him.

"You're right," he sighed. Neither knew how to communicate so it was getting very awkward, very quickly.

"So, I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you around the hall I guess," she took a deep breath.

Mallory began walking away but stopped half a step later when Robbie called out to her. She turned around to look at him.

"Hey, Mal, I'm sorry. About everything," Mac told her seriously, thinking about what he thought when he first saw her.

"Me too," she nodded quietly. She meant about the slap.

"I'll see you later then," he nodded.

"You sure will," she giggled, "See ya."

Mallory walked away from that conversation smiling. She hadn't been that happy for a while. The whole OC relationship imploding really got her down. The only time she had been happy in the past two weeks were times that she wasn't sober. Mac watched her as she left. He made fun of her glasses before, but even though they were big granny glasses she managed to make them look less geeky. He didn't think he liked her like he did when they dated, but all he knew was that he didn't hate her anymore. They were 'cool' now.

…

"I don't get why you want to meet the team so much," Buzz shrugged to his wife.

"Because they're your team and I want to meet the guys you've been spending the past two months with," Gail told him.

The guys had a quick practice at the arena and Gayle was working at the hospital all day. This was the first time the married couple saw each other since Buzz left for Europe. Gayle picked up her husband in their car at the dorms. They were talking in the parking lot and Gayle was trying to get inside the building.

"Well you can meet them another time. I've seen them nonstop for two weeks. Now I want to see you," Buzz tucked Gayle's hair behind her ear. She always loved when he did that and he knew it.

"It will only take two minutes. Then we have the whole night to ourselves," she said seductively, just above a whisper.

"Oh alright," Buzz groaned, she always managed to win an argument.

The couple kept walking and took the stairs up to the floor that Buzz and the rest of the team stayed on. He didn't want to spend too much time there so he planned on only introducing her to one room. He stopped by OC's room, which had an open door. The team acknowledged their presence.

"Gayle, this is OC, Silk, Rizzo and Baker. Guys this is my wife Gayle," Buzz made the introductions.

The four guys greeted Gayle and she returned the greeting.

"It's nice to meet you guys. It seems like these days you guys spend more time with my husband than I do," Gayle joked.

"Not by choice. You can have him back if you want," Baker teased.

Everyone cracked up. Gayle and Buzz talked to the guys for another minute and began saying their goodbyes.

"Bye guys," Gayle nodded.

"See you guys at practice," Buzz added.

They were turning to walk away when they bumped into Mallory. She had books under her arm. She was on her way to the library. The RA was trying to walk quickly to avoid the situation but didn't get away.

"Mallory McDonnell?" Gayle was stunned, "Wow, hi!"

"Hi," Mallory looked at her as if she was looking at a ghost. She sounded nervous, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm married to Buzz. I came to meet the team," Buzz's wife smiled.

"Well I guess that explains why he isn't around too much," Mallory joked, but she didn't laugh at it like she did her other jokes.

"Wow," Gayle shook her head, "It's just really great to see you back in school. How's Randy?"

"He's in Canada playing hockey," she smiled proudly, "I wanted him to stay but in the long run it was good for him to get away."

"Yeah," Gayle nodded understandingly, "We should meet up sometime, for coffee or something."

"Yeah, yeah," she nodded and placed all her weight on one foot, just noticing that the guys were all watching and listening to their talk, "I gotta study now. But you know where I live, I guess."

"I can come over late tonight. I just…I just wanna know how you are," Gayle smiled sympathetically.

Mallory grabbed the hair in pack of her head with her free hand. She played with her hair between her fingers and nodded, almost looking like her hand was forcing the nod, "Yeah, okay. I'll be back around eleven."

"Okay, we'll come back here before we go home," Gayle told her, "See you then."

"Okay," Mallory gave a small but genuine smile, "Bye."

Mallory quickly trotted off avoiding the eye contact of all the guys. She looked unnerved when she left.

"Gayle, how do you know our RA?" Buzz asked his wife. He was really confused. She never mentioned her. And he wanted to know why she would want to hold up their reunion by seeing Mallory later that night.

"Oh my, she's RA too? That's wonderful! She's had such a tough year, you know with her mom, she needs to just get her mind off things," Gayle told them.

"Her mom? What are you talking about?" OC asked.

"Her mom died last December," Gayle explained, then looked embarrassed, "She had liver cancer. I thought she would have told you…"

The guys shook their heads. They were stunned. Mallory never spoke about her mom, well except when the guys asked, which wasn't very often. Rizzo even remembered asking where her mom was at the wedding and she said at Mount Rushmore. Why would Mallory lie about her mom?

"No," OC muttered. They were intimate and yet she kept that big secret from him. He knew that he shouldn't be mad because he kept Jessica from her, but somehow he still felt a little betrayed.

"Yeah," Gayle said, she felt bad about talking but now she had to explain, "I was her mom's nurse. I was there the night her mom died. That was just so…tragic. By far, one of my worst nights at the hospital. I remember it like it was yesterday…It was December twenty-second, right before Christmas. And her mom wasn't doing well and we knew she wasn't going to survive the night. So I called her and her brother and she rushed in. Randy was in his hockey gear because he was about to play with his friends in some backyard rink. And Mallory, Mallory was all dressed up. She said she got the call right before she was leaving to meet some guy she was seeing at an end of term party. They both made it in time luckily… But it was so sad. I mean they already lost their dad in Vietnam. They were a really close family. What I remember most was Mallory, she didn't want to cry in front of her brother. So when her brother's girlfriend arrived he went to her and Mallory just ran out. I found her balling next to the nursery. I don't know… that death just always shook me…"

The guys were speechless. They genuinely didn't know the words to say. Most of them didn't loose a parent, except for Silky and Jimmy. They didn't know what it was like. And Mallory lost both of hers at a pretty young age. They remembered how on the first day Mac explained that she just never showed up at some party they were supposed to meet up at a party, they now knew that in fact she was planning on going but couldn't because of her mother.

Gayle realized what she had done and quickly tried to intervene, "Jeez, look what I did. Mallory is okay now, since she's back at school. I know she took last spring semester off to stay at home and take care of her brother so he could graduate from his high school. They're really close. But her being back at school is a good sign."

Gayle smiled at them encouragingly. Buzz nodded, "You're right. We'll see you guys later tonight."

The married couple left the guys who were still pretty speechless. After a few moments Silky spoke up.

"Guess that explains a lot," he ended the silence.

"Yeah," OC nodded.

"I'm gonna get going," Baker didn't look at the guys. He got up and left in a haste.

Baker quickly walked down the hallway to Mac and Mark's room. They were in there with Jimmy, Verchota and a few of the other guys.

"You guys will never guess what just happened…" Baker almost sounded out of breath.

As Baker retold the story everyone in the room was stunned, Robbie especially. He was with her during this time and apparently he was the only one. Why wouldn't she say anything? They didn't talk that much but they still talked a bit. This was something that she should've told him. Robbie had no idea; she never acted out of the ordinary. But he didn't know her until that year, so maybe she was different than her usual self the whole time.

"Guess that explains why she ditched your ass at that party," Verchota told Mac.

"Guess so," Mac muttered. He was truly speechless at this point. He should've have known what was going on.

The guys talked a little more about this, trying to figure out any clues in Mallory's behavior or stuff she said that would be hints that her mom passed away. They thought of a few times but they were all very minor. Some things that popped up as weird was Mac telling them how weird she was when asking about why she left for the semester and that she didn't look him in the eye for some of it. Rizzo mentioned at the wedding about a woman saying how much she looked like her mom and that she was in an argument with Randy after Rizzo mentioned their mom. Mark even remembered that she didn't want her albums at the house, now realizing it was because no one would be there to listen to them.

About an hour later they saw Mallory walking very hastily to her door. She didn't even look at all the guys in Mac and Mark's room even though she knew they were looking at her. She quickly opened the door across the way and slammed it shut once she got inside.

"She knows that we know," Mark stated.

"That's probably why she was acting weird about Gayle. She didn't want us to know and knew that Gayle would," Rizzo suggested.

"Did she tell you anything, OC?" Silk asked, "You guys got close…"

"Not at all. I'm surprised," OC answered.

"What about you, Mac?" Bah asked.

"No…nothing," Mac shook his head, "She should've told me."

All of a sudden the guys heard music coming out of Mallory's room. The RA always picked music that described her mood or something that she felt. The song she chose shocked the guys. It was Chubby Checker's "The Twist". It was a very upbeat song that had a fun dance to it. Of all the songs on the planet why would she chose this? She was supposed to be in a Simon and Garfunkel type of mood, not upbeat pop.

After the song ended Mac stood up, "I'm gonna go talk to her."

He immediately walked out his door and closed it behind him so none of the guys saw what would happen. No one really got up to open the door either, figuring it would be kind of disrespectful. OC sat wishing he did know what was going on out of pure curiosity. He wanted to talk to her himself about why she didn't say anything but that would be a bold move considering Jessica. He wasn't that much of a brave man. He knew Mac was just stupid enough to do something "brave" with Mallory. They kind of became friends on the trip, but they certainly weren't best buds or anything.

Robbie knocked on the door, "Mal, open up!"

A few seconds passed and the RA opened the door. Her face was a little red and she gave him a pouty look.

"What Mac?" she immediately changed her face to a blank look.

"Can I come in?" Mac stepped forward, moving half inside the room.

"Why?" Mallory acted confused.

"I want to talk to you…" the hockey player let himself in.

Mallory took a deep breath and closed the door. Robbie sat on Mallory's bed and patted it to signal Mallory to sit next to him. The blonde shook her head.

"Don't tell me to sit on my own bed," she told him coolly. She then sat at her desk chair, "So I guess you know…"

"Mal," he breathed, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We weren't anything, you and I both agreed on that," she told him.

"But we were still together. You should've told me. I could've…" Mac tried, but Mallory interrupted.

"What could you have done? My mom had cancer. She was dying. The doctors couldn't have done anything and neither could you," her face was turning the same shade of red that it was earlier.

"I could've made you feel better," Robbie looked at his feet instead of her eyes. He didn't know what she was going to do, but he didn't want to see her cry.

"Robbie," she sighed, reverting back to the name she called him when they were together, "You did. Don't you get it? You were my escape last fall. I didn't want you to know. You were the only part of my life that was okay. I used you to forget about my mom for a little while. She was all I thought about. The only time I didn't think about her was when I was with you."

"Seriously?" Robbie looked at her, she wasn't crying. She was just sitting down looking sad. She didn't like crying in front of people. She believed it showed weakness.

"Yeah," she nodded, "And I knew that going into the relationship. Before you…before you, I only had sex with one other person. He was my boyfriend of a year and a half. I lost my virginity at twenty and started dating you at twenty-one. I'm not that loose girl you thought I was. I'm actually a relationship type of girl. When you wanted to be with me earlier this summer, I said no because I knew you didn't want a relationship and I did."

"Then how do you explain OC?" Mac blurted out. He immediately wish he didn't. She was sitting there pouring her heart out to him and he sounded like she was attacking him. She kept her cool though.

"I wanted to be in a relationship with him," she explained, "But then I realized that he had too much baggage. And I guess now everyone knows mine…"

"Why didn't you tell anyone? About your mom?" Robbie switched topics.

"Because I didn't want everyone to know. I didn't want people to feel bad for me...and…" she sighed.

"What?" Mac asked barely above a whisper, giving her his full attention.

"It's nothing," she shrugged, "You wouldn't understand. No one would…Can you just, uh, spread the word on the floor that I don't want to see anyone for a few days. I'm honestly in no mood and I don't want people flooding my room feeling sorry for me. Please do that."

"Okay," he nodded, "I have one more question though, 'The Twist'?"

"My mom played that a few weeks after my dad died because my brother and I were really sad. We danced around and it made us feel better. I did the same with Randy a few weeks after Mom died. I just played it because I wanted to feel better…"

Mac nodded in acknowledgment. All his questions were answered so he got up and began walking to the door. Mallory got up to go sit on her bed. She didn't want to have physical contact with him while she told the story. Mac noticed this and walked back to her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him. They stood a few feet apart and he was rubbing her arm. She looked right at his chest and not up at him, he in returned talked to her forehead.

"I'm so sorry, Mal," he said barely above a whisper.

"I know," she whispered back, "Thanks for being here, but please leave now…"

"Okay," Mac understood, "Feel better."

"Just, uh, give me some time…"

Mac sighed and gently kissed her forehead, hoping in some small way it would help her feel better. He couldn't believe that he was her rock throughout that whole ordeal and didn't know about it. The hockey player then left his ex's room with so many thoughts running through his head. He didn't want a relationship and they both knew it. But he was already there for her, and still will be as her friend. It was the least he could do.


	18. I Could've Danced All Night

**Peachy65: Aww thank you! I'm so happy you like my story. Reviews like that make me very happy! Mallory has a long way to go before she figures out who she's meant to be with. I'm giving her a break this chapter, but she'll make an appearance next chapter!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for reviewing! I'm happy you liked it! I feel like it brought things together too. And I liked that you feel bad and understand everyone's points of view because in my story I don't want a definite good guy and definite bad guy. I want people to really understand everyone's points of view. Which is why I have this chapter now!**

**Lulu: Thanks for the review!**

**AN: Thanks for all your lovely reviews! They rocked! This chapter is kind of like the Mallory POV chapter but instead it's Elizabeth's. I hope you like it. And the … is just leaving one train of thought and going into another. It shows that she's still thinking obviously but it cuts to another scene. Anyways, please review when you're done!**

**Chapter 18**

**Elizabeth's POV**

"Clear head, clear mind, clear heart," I whisper to myself from the center of the ice.

Letting out a deep breath, I say a small prayer to God. I hear the song starting and I begin my routine. This is my dress rehearsal for my big shot and I intend to dominate my competition this weekend.

_I could've danced all night_

_I could have danced all night!  
And still have begged for more._

I perfectly land my first jump. I'm at peace now. As I continue the routine, I feel such an intense smile come across my face. I'm so happy for a million reasons. I'm nailing this practice right now. Double axel, triple axel, spirals; I perfectly did them all one after the other after the other. And this song, I love it. It's such a fun song to skate to. I can't wait to show this routine to the judges in Lake Placid this weekend. This routine can help me break the ice into the top ten, no pun intended, on the best skaters ranking. I need to be in the top ten to even be considered for Nationals, which gives me a shot at the Olympics.

_I only know when he  
Began to dance with me.  
I could have danced, danced, danced all night!_

The song is cut so I can fit it into my routine. Now it's ending and my final move: the layback spin. When I finish whirling around I look up at my pretend audience and smile. I can hear Elaine, my coach, clapping in the background. This was the perfect performance and she was the only one who got to see it.

I turn to face my Elaine to see a big smile across her face. She's proud; she thinks she taught this all to me. My Elaine tends to forget that I do some work too. I love calling her My Elaine to others, it bugs her.

"Great job, Elizabeth!" she smiles, "Excellent!"

"Thanks," I nod. I already knew that.

"Come on. You need to shower up or you're…." Elaine suddenly stopped talking. I knew why but wanted to pest her.

"Or what?" I laugh.

"Nothing," she shook her head, "Good practice today. Let's just get out of here."

"Why?" I laugh, as I begin skating backwards away from her, "I've got all the time in the world now!"

The song is still playing in the background because Elaine forgot to turn it off when it's supposed to be cut. I begin dancing along with the second half.

"Come on, Elaine!" I tease, "Try to catch me!"

My Elaine shakes her head, looking un-amused. She never knows when to have fun. This is the end of practice. It's the middle of a Monday morning; it's already supposed to suck. Why not try to make it a little fun? Sometimes I feel like she's too serious. I like having fun. Why do I have to be serious all the time? I don't want to grow up too fast and sometimes I feel like its being forced on me. I want to stay a kid but I like going out and dating older men. I'm just a really complicated person. I dance around for the final minute of the song and when it ends for good I skate back to Elaine laughing to myself.

"Come on, let's go home," she shrugged.

"Such a sour puss," I giggle.

Elaine begins walking off the ice and I follow behind. She gets off first and heads to the exit, she's going to the Dunkin Donuts across the street while I shower up. It's our routine. I walk alone to the dressing room singing ABBA's "Voulez-Vous" in my head. I love them and they're songs are so catchy.

Then, as I turned the corner, I saw him. It was Jimmy. I pause for a moment. He was doing what he usually did, throwing the tennis ball against the wall. I hadn't seen him in over two weeks. They must be back from Europe. I take a deep breath and then call out to him.

"Hey, welcome back," I yell to the back of his head.

He turns around and sees me at the end of the hall. He doesn't speak for a moment, but I see his eyes moving up and down. He was checking me out, giving me the fifty cent tour. Another positive to this dress rehearsal day. I have to admit, I do look very cute in my light pink leotard and matching short skirt. I think the pink bow in my ponytail adds the extra touch.

"Hi," he replies back.

"Where's the rest of the guys?" I ask him as I walk closer to him, "How was Europe?"

"It was great. Everyone's beat though. Herb gave us the day off. We start practicing again tomorrow, but I just wanted to do some drills," he replied. God, he was so cute. I kind of ignored what he was saying just so I could study all the handsome features on his face.

"Oh," I nodded, pretending I listened to what he said.

"It's ten in the morning. Shouldn't you be in school?" he asked me, changing topics.

"No," I smile and shake my head, "I don't do school anymore…"

"You, uh, dropped out?" he sounded confused.

"Yeah," I answer.

"Why?' he almost looked disappointed.

"I don't want to be a scholar. I'm an ice skater. I don't need school to do what I do," I answer, "I've thought about this for a long time this wasn't a sudden decision."

"What did your family say about it?"

"Well, uh, you know that night we hung out at the bar…you know after I saw my brother," I sigh, "He was mad that night because I told him I was dropping out."

"Ohhh," was all he replied. I was disappointed. I wanted to see what else he would say about that situation. He was really nice to me that night. I kind of assumed he liked me that night because he was such a sweetie, "What about your parents?"

"They were surprised I made it this far," I roll my eyes with a shrug. I'm one of eight; they have bigger problems to worry about.

It became silent for a moment so I decided to speak up again, "I made sure I waited until I was eighteen. Because I, uh, turned eighteen last week…"

"Yeah I remember you mentioned you were turning eighteen soon," he told me.

"I'm so happy now. I can go to bars and clubs without using my fake. I can even spend the night at the dorms with you guys…you know if we all get drunk again or something," I say mischievously. I know that bitch Molly or Mallory or whatever her name is can't stop me anymore.

"Sure," he nodded, giving me a strange look, "Just don't tell Verchota or Silky you turned eighteen though."

"Why?" I laugh; I think I already know the answer. I just want to hear him say it.

"Because they'll be all over you," he replied with a small smile, "You don't want that."

"And why not? I'm single and I'm legal. They're nice…" I try to provoke him.

"Because they're annoying," Jim laughed, "Spend more than a couple hours with them and you'll see."

"Oh," I almost stutter. That was not the answer I wanted.

"Well I better get back to what I was doing. Have fun not going to school today," he gave a fake smile and rolled his eyes. Was he mad at me for dropping out?

"Bye," I say coolly back before rushing away from him. I thought after this conversation I would want a cold shower, but not anymore. Whatever, I can forget about him. Tonight, I'm seeing Scott.

Scott Hamilton, my friend and fellow ice skater. I can't wait to see him. I miss him. He gets me. He knows how important skating is to me and he'll understand why I dropped out of school. And tonight will be fun; we're going dancing with his sister and some of her friends from college. She goes to the U. Tonight better be great...

…

…God, I'm exhausted! Tonight was such a blast. I don't even remember the last time I had that much fun sober. Well I wasn't completely sober, I'm tipsy now but not that much.

"So where are we going again?" I laugh asking Scott. I was too busy thinking of the night to hear what they were talking about. We're walking back to the car that's all I know.

"We're going back to my dorm," Scott's sister, Carol, replied, "I'm too lazy to drive you home tonight."

"Okay," I nod. It's not like I've never slept over a dorm before, "What dorm is it?"

"Sanford," Carol answered as she unlocked her car, "Third floor."

"I slept over a dorm once but I was too drunk to remember where," I chuckle.

"Typical," Scott jokes, getting into shot gun, "But I have a feeling we have to sleep on the floor. That's gonna be the only difference for you."

"Shut up!" I giggle and shake my head, sliding into the backseat and closing the door behind me.

We're all going back to Carol's dorm. It takes about twenty minutes. The whole time I had my head leaning against the window, resting. I was busy today. I thought dropping out would make me less busy. Oh well. I yawn loudly and try my hardest not to close my eyes. After fighting the urge I do. I'm not in a deep sleep or any sleep at all. It's just nice to rest my eyes. I'm completely out of it.

"Hey Elizabeth!" I hear Scott call my name and I wake up from my half asleep trance.

"What?" I shrug coolly. I didn't want to be disturbed.

"We're here," he says.

"Oh," I sit up now, ready to get out of the car.

I get out of the car in silence rubbing my eyes. We all begin walking into the building. I'm behind everyone and I'm looking down trying gather up some strength. Boy I'm tired. I take a deep breath and suddenly get a rush of energy. I begin walking quickly to reach Scott. I playfully jump on his back to try to scare him. I saw it in a movie once and thought it was cute. I actually wanted to do it to a guy I liked, but Scott will do.

"Hey," Scott laughed, "You're okay now?"

"Yup," I smile. I think I might be a little tipsy still, "Let's sleep."

We continue walking and get inside the building. The lobby looks like the one that is in the building where the guys live. But I guess they all look the same. I walk with Scott. He now has his arm around my shoulder, leading me on, and I have my arm around his back. I'm glad he's supporting me now because the burst of energy is now over. Luckily we're taking the elevator.

Stepping off the elevator I begin looking around. Shit! Fuck! This is seriously their floor. I can tell by the first door. I remember the times being here there was a big marker line on the first door to the left after getting off the elevator. I see it again. Damn it! It would be so awkward if any of them saw me.

"Carol, where's your room?" I ask nervously.

"At the other end of the hall. Sorry, hun," Carol apologized. She was ahead of his with a few of her friends. Scott and I were the caboose.

"Let's just hurry. I need to go to bed," I try to sound like nothing is wrong.

"Hey Carol," I hear people greeting her from an open door. Carol and her friends suddenly stopped to talk to the people. Scott and I caught up to them and stopped. I looked to who they were talking too. Son of a…

"Hey Elizabeth!" Silk laughed, "What the hell are you doing here?"

I'm quiet for a moment. I don't want to talk to them or at least have any type of conversation with them. I decide to do what I do best: pretend to be shitfaced.

"I don't know!" I shake my head a crack up. I then see Jim from the corner of my eye. I look over to him and point, "I KNOW YOU!"

Carol and Scott begin cracking up. Scott looked down at me and I looked up at him, "I'm gonna get you to bed."

Carol handed him her keys, "I'll see you guys in a minute. And Scott, you guys are sleeping on the floor."

"Whatever," I shrug before Scott can answer, "Jeez it smells like shit in this hallway."

I look over and see vomit in the water fountain.

"That's disgusting! You're RA needs to get on that and get someone to clean that shit up!" I complain. It really does smell disgusting.

I pull Scott's back and we begin walking away. I begin walking faster again and he's still holding me trying to keep up. Once we get to Carol's door he fumbles with the keys. I grab them from his hand and open the door myself. I quickly let myself in and he follows behind me looking confused.

"Elizabeth, what the fuck?" Scott gave me a weird look.

"I'm sorry!" I say quickly, "I just know them. They practice at the same rink as me. And it's just awkward. I'm not drunk I promise!"

"You acted drunk because you didn't want to talk to them?"

"Yeah," I nod slowly, realizing how stupid it was when I said it aloud.

"You're awful," Scott chuckled.

"I know," I laugh agreeing, "It's just complicated with them. Like I've hung out with them before, but not for a while. And I just had a really weird conversation with one of them this morning."

"The one that said hi to you?"

"No," I shake my head, "The one I pointed out….I think I like him…"

"Wow," Scott was stunned, "You don't like anyone."

"I know," I sigh.

"Why do you like him?"

"Because after today, I don't think he likes me. And I want to pursue him..."

What can I say? I like the chase.


	19. Wish You Were Here

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the POV. I think I'll write more POV chapters in the future.**

**LTJM: Thanks for reviewing! I'm going to write more POV chapters soon **

**Peachy65: Thanks! I'm happy you liked the Scott Hamilton part. I chose him because of he carried the flag!**

**Lulu: Thanks for the review!**

**AN: Thanks for everyone who read and reviewed! I'm glad you liked it! I hope you like this one too. This name is from a Pink Floyd song. Please review afterwards!**

**Chapter 19**

A couple days after the team got back from Europe, they started their strenuous practices again. It was a blast though, the whole team really bonded over the trip. They began to really mesh as a team. Practices were getting tougher and tougher, but the guys really liked the hard work. They wanted to become better players.

Despite the more grueling practices, Jimmy still did his ball against the wall drill. Craig Patrick would now regularly help him out with that. He did that after practice and then his day was done. As Jim was leaving the rink after his drills, he saw a brunette sitting on a bench. He walked a little closer and realized it was Elizabeth. He hadn't seen her since a few days before when she was really drunk at their dorm.

He paused for a moment. She didn't know he was there but if he walked to his car she would definitely notice him. Rather than deciding to be a dick and ignore her, he walked towards the bench. Elizabeth looked up when she heard footsteps approach. They both exchanged eye contact but there were no greetings.

"What are you doing out here?" Jim asked.

"I'm waiting for my Elaine to pick me up," she gave a small insincere smile. Then she looked down at her feet, "Doing your drills again?"

"Yeah," Jim nodded. He then sat down next to her on the bench, "I'll wait with you."

"You don't have too…" she shrugged, "It might be a while."

"That's fine," Jim said, "It's not that cold out."

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Elizabeth kind of liked him but she didn't want him here now. She didn't want him to see this, or not see this. She didn't know how to word this situation she was in and that Jim knew nothing about.

"You said earlier that you were one of eight. I'm one of eight too," Jim started up conversation with a memory of a previous one they had.

"I'm the second oldest," she smiled, "Where do you stand?"

"I'm the sixth. One of the babies…"

"Babies always get all the attention," she said, sounding like it was out of spite.

Jim awkwardly chuckled, "Yeah…so, uh, how old are your other siblings?"

"You don't understand, don't you? About why I dropped out?" Elizabeth completely switched topics with what was on her mind, as if she didn't hear Jim.

Jim shook his head, "No…I really don't."

"No one does," Elizabeth shrugged, crossing her arms against her chest, looking like a kid in a temper tantrum. Scott did, but barely. She could tell he didn't fully approve. They were friends; she felt he should support her.

"Well why did you do it? It can't be just because you want to be an ice skater. That career will be like ten years tops. There's something more there," Jim told her honestly.

Jim saw Elizabeth's face slowly turn a shade of red. Tears began rolling down her face and she immediately tried to stop them, which caused her to make a whimpering noise. Jim grew concerned. He didn't have the guys with him. Silk wasn't the one this time to put his arm around her and tell her it was going to be okay. He had to step up now.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she smiled through the tears, "You're just the first person that's actually cared."

"That's not true. What about your parents?" Jim tried to make her feel better.

"I'm one of eight," she told him again and shook her head, "They ignore me."

"I bet that's not…" Elizabeth cut him off.

"I haven't spoken to them in seven months," she shrugged, "I just want them to care. My Elaine doesn't care either…she's just…she's just not there the way I need her to be. I'm only eighteen. I just wish someone was here…"

Jim put his arm around her, knowing that no words could do anything. He knew she didn't want him to say anything to her. She wanted someone to be there for her. To care about her. Everything suddenly made sense for Jim now. Elizabeth dated older guys and went out partying because she didn't want Elaine to ignore her anymore. She wanted to be parented; she wanted to be a kid. She was acting like she was grown up because she had nothing else.

There was a silence between them for a moment. But it wasn't awkward. It was one of those silences where no one wanted to say anything. It was peaceful and nice.

Elizabeth finished wiping away her tears. She can't believe she cried in front of Jim. He probably thought she was a baby now. She was so embarrassed. The ice skater never liked being vulnerable in front of anyone. He was going to think she was a big sobbing loser now.

"I'm going to go now," Elizabeth finally spoke up, "I want to walk home. Ya know, clear my mind."

"Are you sure?" Jim felt she shouldn't be alone now, "I thought Elaine…"

"I'm fine. I've been alone before. I'll be okay," she reassured him, "And I knew from the start she wasn't coming…She only stays for regular practices. She doesn't bother with my self-extra ones. I just wanted to wait her out and be one hundred percent sure."

Elizabeth got up, bid Jim a farewell and walked away in shame. Jim stayed sitting on the bench. Not many people surprised him like that. He was stunned. She was always such a bitch. He never knew why he defended her, he felt something was there but could never figure out what.

After a couple minutes, Jim got up and went to his car. Driving home he couldn't keep his mind off of Elizabeth. He scanned the streets he was driving to see if she was there. She wasn't. He still couldn't really believe her story. All the guys kind of trashed her about her behavior but now he felt she had a reason behind it. How could they trash someone like Elizabeth and not someone like Mallory?

An epiphany then came over Jim. He had been treating Mallory the same way that the guys had treated Elizabeth: judging her without knowing her, not respecting her, not listening to her. Jim heard about Mallory's mom. He didn't know how to react. She was the one person that he treated like crap in Minnesota and yet they have so much in common. He had to do something. He had to act up and be a man. If he was willing to listen to Elizabeth, than he should listen to Mallory. It was the least he could do.

Once Jim arrived back to the dorms, he showered up and got dressed. He was going to take Mallory out to a bar tonight. It was the perfect place to drown your sorrows. None of the guys had seen Mallory in days. The only time she would come out of her room was if she was going to class. The worst of it was that the music was gone. Mallory always played awesome music that could be heard from one end of the hall to the other. The floor loved it. The floor was also a bit of a mess too. Lots of stuff had been going on that normally Mallory would never allow. Gross stuff like vomit in the water fountain, to the weird like a stranger sleeping outside someone's door, it was the type of shit that Mallory would never allow when she was on her game. She had been in a funk since everyone found out about her mom and Jim wanted to make it his job to get her out of it.

When Jim was all ready to go he left his room and went to Mallory's. He knocked on his door and waited. No answer. He knocked again. After waiting a few seconds Mallory opened the door. She looked so…sad, that was the only thing Jim could think of. Her hair was in a messy bun, she was wearing her John Lennon glasses, and it looked like she had been in bed for days with a cold. He knew better.

"What the hell do you want?" Mallory shrugged. She knew Jim hated her. If he wanted to make her feel worst than that would just be cruel.

"I want to take you out for a beer. I know how you feel," the goalie tried.

"How the hell would…" Jim interrupted her.

"Because my mom died of cancer too," he stopped her mid-sentence, "A couple of years ago."

Mallory was silent for a moment. She looked at him with a sad look on her face. She didn't really know what to say.

"I'll put my shoes on," the blonde finally sighed.

Mallory closed the door and after a minute or two she opened it again. She put more than her shoes on. She put on a pair of jeans and an old Minnesota shirt. She also took her glasses off, which means she must've replaced them with her contacts.

"Let's go," Mallory closed the door and led the way.

"I'll drive," Jim offered.

When Mallory and Jimmy arrived to the bar, they decided to sit right at the bar because all the tables were crowded with college kids. They sat down and it was silent for a moment, like their entire car ride. They ordered their beers and the bartender came back with their bottles right away. Then they had nothing to wait for but for someone to start talking.

"So…"Jim began, looking down at his feet rather than Mallory. He took a deep breath, "I'm sorry about your mom."

"Thanks," Mallory said shyly back. She really didn't want the guys to know.

"I know how tough it is; I lost my mom like that too. After every hockey game I played at BU, I would go to the hospital to visit my Ma…" he was reluctant to be vulnerable with him. He didn't like talking about his mom with anyone. He knew no one would understand.

"I've been there," Mallory almost chuckled, realizing that was the first thing they ever saw eye-to-eye on, "My mom really cared about my school work. So after every test, quiz, or paper I would visit her in the hospital. Randy would too…It's been tough with him. It's hard being an older sibling."

"I wouldn't know," Jim explained, "I'm the sixth of eight. My older siblings really helped me out. You older siblings are tough."

"We gotta be," Mallory nodded.

"Us younger brothers thank you," Jim joked, cracking a small smile.

Mallory smiled lightly back. It was the first time she smiled in days, "You're welcome."

The tapped their beer bottles together lightly, having a small moment of understanding each other.

"Mallory, can I ask you something?" Jim took a sip of his beer.

"You can ask me anything you want," she looked straight ahead of her, taking another sip of her beer to ready herself.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Mallory looked down and shook her head. She couldn't help but chuckle. That was the question everyone wanted to know. She never gave anyone a straight answer. Why should she? Who the hell were they? They wouldn't understand. Those were Mallory's thoughts on it anyways.

"Honestly," Mallory breathed, "I didn't want to say it aloud because it would make it true."

"I was like that," Jim nodded, "I didn't tell anyone on the team that my ma died. My coach, Jack Parker, told them. He made sure that they didn't ask me about it. He would talk to me about it sometimes, but that was it."

"Yeah," Mallory knew what that was like; she took a cigarette out of her pocketbook and light up, "My town knew about it through the obit section. Afterwards they wanted to talk to my brother and I. Our town's Rabbi and Priest came. The whole neighborhood brought us tuna casserole. Because as you know nothing says you 'I'm sorry' like a tuna casserole."

"A Rabbi and a Priest?" Jim laughed, "Why both?"

"I'm technically half," Mallory smiled and shook her head, "I know McDonnell doesn't sound it. My Mom was a Jew and my dad was Irish-Catholic. They eloped because neither family supported their relationship. We actually never practiced religion growing up; my parents thought it tore the family apart."

"Ohh," Jim didn't know what else to say. He and his family were always religious and thought God would cure his mom.

"Parents don't deserve to die," Mallory puffed from her cigarette, "They have the hardest job in the world. They're superheroes. They should be alive forever. Let me tell you, I wish my parents were here."

"I wish my mom was here too…but…but that can't happen. I just think of the good memories and I know that she wouldn't want me to think about her all the time," Jim tried to make her feel better. He didn't tell her that he thought of his mom almost all the time.

"Please," Mallory sniggered, "You think of your mom all the time. I can tell."

He looked down and nodded in shame. He was caught in his lie. She read him like a book.

"You know how I know?" she puffed her cigarette again, "Because I think about my parents all the time too."

"It's hard not too," he admitted.

"Damn straight," she chuckled, "So let's stop talking about dead parents, because it's really bringing down the mood in here."

Jim laughed, "Alright. What do you want to talk about then?"

"I don't know," she shook her head; "I'm surprised you didn't bring up OC and I. I know that was a hot topic when we broke up."

"I know Jack. He's a friend of mine. But I know you can do better," Jim said honestly.

"Thanks," she never thought she'd hear Jimmy of all people say that, "But if we're on that topic…Elizabeth?"

"She's actually not that bad," Jim tried, "I've talked to her. She's alright once you get to know her."

"I'll have to see it to believe it," the blonde chuckled, taking another puff of her cigarette, "So are you guys an item now? I wonder what her parents would think of their seventeen year old dating an older guy…"

"She turned eighteen. And we're not," he didn't want to talk about her parents.

"Yet," Mallory smiled, "Whatever, as long as she's not a pain you can bring her around."

"What about you?" Jim asked.

"What about me?" Mallory questioned back.

"You and Mac. He was very serious about seeing you and talking to you…that night," Jim told her.

"We're friends, only friends," the blonde explained, "I needed him as an escape when my mom got sick and he finally figured everything out that night when Gayle told everyone. But we're not going out again. I actually think he's going to turn out to be one of my best friends…"

"Ohhh," Jim nodded in understanding, "So are you mad Gayle told everyone?"

"No," Mallory said honestly, "I'm glad she did. The truth is out, no more mystery to me. Besides I should've said something months ago. I think I should call and thank her…"

"So are you getting better now? I know you've been down in the dumps," Jim tried.

"Yeah," the RA smiled, "I think I just needed someone that understood what I was going through to take me out. Thanks Jim."

"Anytime," he replied, "And I wanted to apologize…for all the shit I've put you through, You didn't deserve that."

"It's okay," she nodded, "Let's just start over. New page."

"Good idea," Jim agreed, "And, uh, if you need anyone else to talk to…Silky lost his dad in Vietnam too."

"Yeah," Mallory already knew, "Mark told me. I think I'll talk to him sometime too…"


	20. Piano Man vs Rocket Man

**LTJM: Unfortunately not too much Jim in this chapter but he'll be in full force next chapter, so will Elizabeth. Mallory is in this chapter though! I'm happy you liked all the interactions!**

**Lulu: Thanks for the review!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Jimmy won't be in this chapter too much, but he does have a cameo. Expect more Mallory/Jimmy/Elizabeth interactions in the next chapter!**

**Peachy65: Who do you think she'll end up with? I can't wait to hear guesses! Because I have a definite plan about who she's going to end up with and her path along the way and it's exciting when my readers react. Needless to say your review made me very happy!**

**AN: So here's the latest chapter! Thanks for all your awesome reviews, I loved them. I hope you like this. I mentally broke this story up into different parts, and well this is the beginning of the second part. It will make more sense after you read this. Enjoy and don't forget to review!**

**Chapter 20**

"Silky, you excited for your date with Diana tonight?" Verchota asked his roommate in the locker room after practice. Diana was a girl that Silk met at a bar and they had gone on a couple of dates together.

"I'm not going with her anymore," Silk explained, "She called this morning saying she had to work. She let me keep the tickets though."

"You got free tickets to Elton John and Billy Joel?" Rizzo asked. He knew that his teammate didn't pay for them.

"Pretty much," Silk smirked.

"So who are you going to go with instead?" Pav asked.

"I'm free tonight," Bah added. He loved both artists.

"Me too!" Pav exclaimed.

"Sorry boys, I have other plans," Silk told them.

"Who are you taking?" Jim gave him a suspicious look.

"I was thinking Mallory," the hockey player answered.

The guys were pretty taken aback. They didn't know that Silk liked Mallory like that. It seemed kind of weird because he was such good friends with OC.

"Why?" Pav asked.

"Well," Silk sighed, "She's been kind of bummed since it got out that her mom died. And I know she's better than before, but still…I thought it would cheer her up."

"Yeah, and what better medicine to cheer her up than your tongue down her throat?" Verchota teased.

A couple of the guys cracked up. Silk just rolled his eyes though. Sure she was pretty, but that wasn't what this was about. He understood what it was like to lose a parent. She had been in a funk since everyone found out and he really wanted to make her feel better. After seeing his mom cry so much after his father died, he just hated seeing women crying. He hadn't personally witnessed Mallory crying but he knew she was sad and he wanted to make it his job to cheer her up tonight.

"What you guys laughing about?" OC joined in on the conversation. He just got out of the shower.

"Silky is taking Mallory out tonight," Bah laughed, "I can't believe you're taking her to the concert over one of us."

"What happened to Diana?" OC asked.

"She had to work so she can't go. She let me keep the tickets though," Silk told him.

"Well maybe it's good that you take her. Than she can get over me," OC chuckled cockily.

"Dude, she already is," Jim laughed.

"How would you know?" OC's ego went down a bit. Jim and Mallory hated each other, they don't talk and certainly don't talk about him.

"We went to a bar last week," Jim replied, "We didn't talk about you but she seemed to care more about her family situation than you."

"Why were you guys together?" Mark was listening and finally joined in the group conversation, "I thought you guys hated each other."

"We just understand each other. I guess we're cool now," Jim answered.

"What did Elizabeth say about that?" Verchota laughed.

"I didn't tell her. We don't talk that much…" Jim sighed.

"Sure…" Verchota teased.

The guys finished getting dressed and left the locker room at different times. Verchota and Silk finished at the same time and walked out together. They were going to drive home in Verchota's car.

"So I'm also on a date tonight," Verchota told his roommate, "So how about I stay in our room with mine and you can just stay in Mallory's room."

"Dude," Silk sighed, now annoyed, "This isn't a date! Seriously, it's like when we took Elizabeth to the bar. Except instead of getting Mallory drunk we're listening to music, I know she likes that."

"Whatever you say," Phil chuckled as he unlocked his car and put his things in the back.

"But really, don't bring that girl back to our room. I'm sleeping there tonight," Silk told him, as he put his hockey bag in the back seat.

"Fine, we'll just go to her place," Verchota put his hands up in defense.

"Thanks," Silk opened the passenger side and got into his roommate's car.

The pair drove back to the dorms, not talking about Mallory anymore. When they arrived back, they took the elevator up to their floor. Walking back to their room they saw Mallory leaving hers, probably going to a class.

"Now is your chance. Go for it man," Verchota muttered in his teammate's ear and gave him a slight nudge towards the RA, who was now walking towards them.

"Hey Mallory," Verchota greeted quietly, as he quickly walked past her towards his room.

"Hey Phil," she nodded as he walked by, "Hey Silky."

"Hey, Mallory, you like music right?" the hockey player greeted her.

"Is that a joke?" the RA gave him a funny look.

"No, I mean," Silk paused for a moment, "Look, I got an extra ticket to the Billy Joel and Elton John concert tonight. Do you wanna go with me?"

"Wow! How'd you get tickets for those?" she looked really surprised.

"Long story," he smirked.

"Okay," she giggled, "Well you can tell me all about it on our way to the concert. I'm driving because you don't have a car."

"Fair deal," he smiled at her, "I'll come pick you up around seven?"

"See you then," she smiled before walking away.

Silk then walked back to his room. When he opened the door he saw his roommate sitting on his bed reading Sports Illustrated.

"So what did she say?" Verchota asked.

"She said yeah," Silk told him, "No thanks to you, man."

"I pushed you to ask her!" Phil laughed.

"I wasn't nervous!" Silky exclaimed.

"Whatever," Phil smiled, "At least you got a hot date tonight."

"This isn't a date," Dave shook his head.

He didn't want it to be a date. Sure, it was the beginning of October. It had been almost a month since OC and Mallory broke up, but still…it seemed kind of weird. OC called Jessica and they got back together. She was going to fly out next weekend with Donna to see OC. But was Mallory over it? Besides, OC and Silk were friends, he didn't know if he should go for anything with Mallory. But tonight, he wasn't going to worry about that. He was just going to take her out and make sure she has a good time.

At seven, Silk picked Mallory up. When she opened the door she had a big smile on her face. She was really excited about this. She loved both of them. They left the dorms and got to Mallory's car. She was driving. Their first conversations were small talk but after a while they got comfortable with each other and went above small talk.

"I can't believe you got their tickets! I wanted to wait in line but I had a huge test that day so I couldn't," Mallory explained, and then sighed, "Man, I can't believe I'm seeing the Rocket Man and the Piano Man."

"Who do you like more?" Silk asked, curious.

Mallory took a deep breath, "Gosh, uh, that's a tough one."

"Come on," Silk urged, "Rocket Man versus the Piano Man. Who's better? Everyone has an opinion…"

"Fine, then what's yours?" the blonde looked at the guy in the passenger seat, "I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours!"

"Wow!" Silk laughed, "How can I refuse to tell you now? I like Billy Joel better. 'Piano Man' is like one of my favorite songs ever. And 'Only the Good Die Young' is awesome too...oh my God, I'm so sorry."

Silk realized he shouldn't have brought up "Only the Good Die Young" song. He wanted this night for Mallory to stop thinking about her mom, and now he may have accidently ruined that.

"It's okay," Mallory smiled encouragingly, "I like that song too. And I know you've dealt with losing a parent too."

"Who told you about my dad?" Silk asked. He didn't think she knew. He was going to tell her about it if the subject ever came up so she could find someone to relate to, like Jimmy.

"Mark told me shortly after Rizzo told you all about my dad…so I've known for like over a month now. Sorry I didn't talk to you sooner," Mallory apologized.

"It's okay," Silk sighed, "I was just surprised you knew."

"Yeah, I mean losing my mom was definitely tougher for me. Like you get it, we were kids when our dads' died so we didn't fully grasp it. It was still awful and we wish it didn't happen…but we've had time to move on," Mallory said, "I didn't know how to talk to you about it because I didn't want to open some old wounds."

'Yeah I get it," Silk shrugged.

It was silent for a moment in the car. They didn't know each other that well so it was kind of a big leap having a heavy conversation like that.

"I like Elton John better," Mallory said softly, trying to ease the awkwardness by going back to the nice conversation they had earlier.

"I figured you would," Silk gave Mallory a look that she couldn't really make out.

"How?" now Mallory was prying.

"There have been so many occasions that you've played Elton John for the hallway. I remember the night after Mac and OC's fight you blasted 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting'," Silk told her.

"Yeah," Mallory cracked up at the memory, "What can I say, Elton John is the man!"

"Whatever," Silky jokingly sighed.

The concert was great. Billy Joel and Elton John were awesome. They even sang some duets. Everyone sang 'Piano Man', 'Rocket Man', and all the other songs. Periodically, Silk would look over at Mallory. Her smile was so big. He never saw her so happy. The hockey player was having a great time already, but after seeing Mallory's face it made everything just so much better. He got a bad reputation a lot by some of the other guys because he did tend to get around, but that would never mean that he wouldn't genuinely take a girl out just for the experience.

After the concert ended, Silk and Mallory began driving back to the U. The concert was in Minneapolis so it wasn't that far from campus. They kind of wished the car ride was longer because they were just so wired.

"Jeez, thanks so much Silky," Mallory gleamed, "Seriously, that concert was just what I needed."

"I'm glad I could help," Silk gave a light smile back.

"Yeah music has helped me a lot deal with both my parent's deaths. I was young when my dad died but my mom said I never got out of my funk until after Woodstock about two years after," Mallory explained.

"You went to Woodstock!" Silk asked excitedly.

"I did," Mallory nodded and chuckled at the memory, "I wasn't supposed to. The neighborhood guys were all older like fifteen plus and I was twelve. Anyways, they were going to go but they lied to their parents and said they were camping. All the parents in the neighborhood knew about the concert so they made the guys take me because they thought it would prevent them from going. It was the greatest weekend of my life."

"Did you meet anyone famous?" Silk was envious.

"I met Janis Joplin," Mallory reminisced, "She was really friendly. She said that if I was a little older she'd want to wrap me up and have me as a present. Then she got me high for the first time."

"That's so cool!" Silk could only imagine.

"Yeah," Mallory nodded, "It was the coolest thing I've ever done. It's all gone down hill from there!"

"I bet that's not true," Silk tried.

"Trust me, it is," she was self-deprecating, and then decided to change topics "So really, how'd you get the tickets?"

"This girl I've been seeing, Diana. She gave them to me. We were supposed to go together but she couldn't get off work," Dave explained.

"Oohhhh," Mallory understood, "Do you think she'll be mad that you took me?"

"I didn't tell her," Silk said, "We weren't serious or anything.

"Weren't?" Mallory questioned.

Silk didn't know how to answer that, luckily for him he didn't have to. They arrived back to the dorms. After Mallory parked they got out of the car and ran into some girls on the floor. They greeted them and by the time they were done with the quick conversation with them, Mallory appeared not to care about what she asked Dave.

The pair walked into the building and took the elevator up to their floor. They walked down the hall and when they reached Silk's door they made an unpleasant discovery: a sock on the door knob.

"Seriously?" Silk shrugged. He knew Phil would pull that shit, even when he asked him not to.

"Does Verchota have a girl in there?" Mallory was grossed out just thinking of it.

"I think so," Silk sighed, "Dammit Phil!"

"Come back to my room," the RA told him.

"Are you…"

"Where else would you go?"

Silk didn't know what to say at first. She had a point. All the guys were probably still out or asleep so he didn't want to knock and disturb them. He still couldn't believe Phil. His roommate was definitely trying to push something.

"Sure…okay," the hockey player nodded.

"Let's go," Mallory gestured her head down the hall.

Mallory lead the way and Silk wasn't far behind. He caught up with her before she reached her door. Mallory opened her door and turned on the lights, while holding it open for Silk.

"You can sit on the bed if you want," the blonde nodded towards her bed, "Put my husband pillow against the wall."

Silk picked up the big pillow, which was on the floor against her bed. He placed it against the wall and sat on her bed, resting his back on it. She sat down next to him, sharing the husband pillow with him.

"So tell me about yourself," Mallory giggled. She felt like they've been getting to know each other all night.

"What do you wanna know?" Silk laughed.

"What was it like growing up in Bahston?" Mallory copied his accent, badly.

"I didn't grow up there," he smiled at her bad imitation, "I grew up in Scituate. That's like forty-five minutes away."

"Ohhh," Mallory acknowledged.

"It was awesome though. What about you? Moose River Falls, I think that's what Rizzo said," Silk wondered aloud.

"Yep," she smiled, "It's small and everyone knows everyone, but it's great. It's the best experience I'd never want to live again."

"Ohhh so you want to live in the city when you're older?" Silk asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I got that vibe from Minneapolis. It's funny, I almost didn't go here. If I went to where I really wanted to than my whole idea about living in the big city might be different."

"Where did you want to go?" Silk was curious.

"University of Wisconsin at Madison. They have a great journalism school," Mallory told him, "I wanted to write about music for _Rolling Stone_ when I was a teenager."

"Why did you go here then?"

"It cost less money and I got scholarship. And I mean business is more of a possibility than being a music journalist," Mallory said.

There was a silence in the room for a moment. Silk realized he was asking a lot of questions and didn't even think about it until after the fact. Mallory decided to ask some questions of her own now.

"So why did you want to take me to the concert? Why not any of the guys?" Mallory asked, "Especially since you have Diana."

"Because you were sad and I wanted to make you feel better," Silk told her honestly.

"Thank you, Dave," she smiled at his sincerity and rested her head on his shoulder. Then she realized that she called him Dave instead of Silk, she smiled a little more.

Silk felt a smile come across his face. After Mallory put her head on his shoulder, he responded by put his arm around his shoulder. It was kind of awkward thinking about it at first, but then a sudden calm came upon the pair. Something just felt right.

Mallory and Dave ended up talking for a couple more hours until they fell asleep. The next morning Dave woke up first. He looked down at the blonde, who was sleeping peacefully under his shoulder. He took a deep breath and smiled at her. Then, he tried to maneuver himself to get up without waking Mallory. He wasn't successful.

"Where are you going?" Mallory asked groggily.

"Mal, go back to sleep," he nodded at her.

"Dave?" she was confused.

"I'll see you later," he sighed, "Right now, I gotta go take care of something."


	21. Sunday Bloody Sunday

**Vaughnloveralwaysnadforev: Silk and Mallory will be developing more in the next few chapters, they're in here somewhat but it won't be focused on them.**

**LTJM: Silky and Mallory will be in more chapters, they have some scenes in here, but there will be a lot more coming up!**

**Peachy65: Rocket Man and Piano Man are both great songs! I love them too! You'll be meeting Jessica and Donna in this chapter!**

**Birdcrap: Silk will be a more leading role in some upcoming chapters with Mallory! I hope you like it!**

**AN: Thanks everyone who reviewed! Sorry this took so long! I've been extremely busy with midterms! Anyways, here's the next chapter. Lots of drama! I hope you enjoy! And please review when you're done!**

**Chapter 21**

After the concert, David and Mallory got closer. They didn't do anything physical but they hung out a lot more. They had a lot more in common besides a deceased father. They both really liked the same music and movies, and had the same odd sense of humor. Mallory could see herself with him, but after the big rush with OC she wanted to keep it slow. She was also pretty shy and didn't want to tell Silk about her forming crush. With OC it was so much easier because he made the move; Mallory was never very good at that.

But that didn't stop her from asking Silk to hang out. In fact this October weekend afternoon the team had no game, so Mallory and Silk decided to go to the record store to explore.

"I hope they have 'My Sharona'," Mallory smiled as the pair walked down the hall, "I've heard it non-stop from some of the girls and now I want to buy my own copy."

"I want a copy too," Silk agreed, "Sharona's tits can be seen right on the cover!"

"Ewww," Mallory gave him a playful smack.

"David!" the pair heard a girl call out for Dave. It was coming from Rizzo and OC's room.

Mallory and Dave looked into Rizzo and OC's room and saw the two hockey players. Two girls were with them. Mallory took a deep breath. They were Jessica and Donna. Donna was a beautiful brunette with short hair and she was smiling right at Silk. She must've been the one calling for him. Jessica had long, thick blonde Farrah hair and green eyes. She was really pretty. Mallory felt very uneasy being near them.

"Ooohhh Silky, is that your girlfriend?" Mallory's thoughts were interrupted by Donna asking a question and looking at Mallory.

Mallory and David both looked at each other and shook their heads quickly.

"No," the pair said in unison.

"I'm Mallory….the RA," the blonde explained shyly.

"Oh hi!" the other blonde exclaimed, "I'm Jessica, Jack's girlfriend."

All Mallory could think of at that moment was how right Rizzo was. He told her right after she and OC broke up was that Jessica looked like her. It was kind of scary seeing Jessica because she could see that it was true. Mallory lost her train of thought when Rizzo's fiancé introduced herself.

"I'm Donna," the pretty brunette smiled.

"Hi," Mallory nodded, giving her a crooked smile.

"Silky, it's been so long since I've seen you. How you've been?" Donna asked.

"Good," Dave nodded, "How about you?"

"It looks it," Donna eyed Mallory, who was standing silently next to Dave.

"We should all go out to eat this Sunday," Jessica smiled at her idea, "You know to catch up and to get to know Mallory better!"

"Yeah!" Donna agreed.

"Wait, Jess, they're probably busy on Sunday. Right, Silky?" OC tried.

"Uh…" Silk didn't know what to say. He didn't always speak well under pressure.

"Perfect! They're not busy," Jessica clapped.

"We'll all go out to eat Sunday after church," Donna suggested.

Mallory burst out laughing. She never went to church. The only times she ever walked into them were her parents' funerals and weddings of friends. The RA also knew that none of the guys ever went to church either.

"What's so funny? Mike and I go to church every Sunday," Donna looked a little confused and upset.

"Ohhh I know," Mallory lied, then awkwardly covered up the laugh "It just seemed so obvious about the church thing and everyone going that I just found it so funny to even mention it!"

Mallory was actually laughing because Rizzo didn't go to church at all when he was there. And she knew better than anyone that he was no saint.

"Come on, Mal. You don't have to lie," Silk sighed.

Rizzo and OC gave him death glares. Their girlfriends thought they went to church and they weren't going to have anyone change their minds of that. Mallory looked embarrassed and gave him a sad look, as if he rated her out for laughing at Rizzo.

"She's half Jewish and half Catholic," Silk joked.

"Ohhh," Mallory, Rizzo and OC laughed in unison, so happy that Silk didn't rat them out.

"Are you Jewish on your mom's side? McDonnell is an Irish Catholic last name," Rizzo questioned, trying to get off his own church subject.

"Yes," Mallory nodded shyly at him.

"Well than you're a non-practicing Jew. If your mom is Jewish than you're Jewish," OC informed the group, "I took a World Religion class at BU."

"Yeah I'm a non-practicing Jew and a non-practicing virgin," Mallory joked and laughed.

Silk laughed with Mallory and the two couples sat silently in the room. The laughing pair noticed nobody else laughing so ended it kind of quickly.

"So this has been sufficiently awkward," Mallory pointed out the obvious.

"See you guys later," Silk tried leading Mallory out.

"On Sunday!" Jessica grinned.

"Okay," Mallory fake laughed and smiled back.

David and Mallory left the room. They walked down the hall and reached a safe distance of the stairs. Once they got into the stairwell, Mallory went off.

"David, what the hell was that? You completely froze out there!" Mallory was mad. She really did not want to go out to eat with them.

"I'm sorry!" Dave sighed, "I don't speak well under pressure."

"Do you know how awkward this will be for me?" Mallory questioned.

David took a deep breath, "Look I know that you and OC had a thing, but it was so long ago and it's over. And you didn't need to laugh at Rizzo for going to church! Why are you anti-religion now?"

"I'm not anti-religion!" Mallory exclaimed, "He just doesn't go to church!"

"Even so, he's a good guy. And faithful to his fiancé," Silk said.

Mallory looked away from Silk and shrugged. He had no idea. She couldn't say anything. She thought a lot about it, and if it got out she could be labeled a slut for breaking apart an engaged couple. She already hooked up with his good friend and another teammate. She didn't want to go around this damn team!

"Whatever," Mallory shook her head.

"Look, I'm sorry," Silk tried again, "Maybe it won't be so bad."

"What if it is?" Mallory sighed.

"Then I'll buy you a few records. I'm already going to pay for your meal too…"

"You are?" Mallory suddenly let out a small smile. Only dates bought each other food.

"Of course, Mal," Silk nodded, "Now let's get some albums."

The next day was Sunday. Silk and Mallory slept in, they didn't go to church and weren't going to pretend they did just because Donna and Jessica were in town. They slept in separate beds and have since the concert. Around noon, Silk picked Mallory up and Mallory drove them to the brunch restaurant that Donna insisted they go to.

When David and Mallory arrived, OC, Jessica, Rizzo and Donna were already there. The table was for eight though. Silk and Mallory sat down and the RA was confused.

"Who else is coming?" Mallory asked no one in particular.

"There they are!" Jessica looked at the door.

Mallory and Silk turned around and saw Jimmy and Elizabeth enter. Mallory quickly turned back around and gave OC the death glare.

"How could you allow this?" she knew that OC knew how much she hated Elizabeth. She thought she was spoiled.

"I'm sorry!" OC mouthed to her.

"I saw them walking together after you guys left," Jessica didn't know Mallory was mad, "I talked to them a bit, she's nice!"

Mallory snorted, trying to cover up her laughter. Elizabeth and Jim then finally made it to the table.

"Sorry we're late," Jim apologized.

"Yeah the traffic getting out of the parking lot of church was just horrendous," Elizabeth sighed.

Mallory almost chocked on the water she was drinking. She could not imagine Elizabeth stepping inside a church. That girl just seemed so…evil in Mallory's eyes. And she seemed like a Mary Magdalene.

"I'm sorry, Mallory, did I say something funny?" Elizabeth asked in an annoyed tone as she and Jim sat down.

Mallory didn't say anything at first so Silk tried to cover for her.

"So is everyone going to watch the football game this afternoon? Should be intense with the Pats playing the Vikings," Silk changed subjects.

"I'm gonna watch," Rizzo said.

"It should be a good game," Mallory gave a small smile, she was a little shy because she was the only Minnesota fan at the table, "You guys better watch out!"

"Why do you respond to Silk and not to me?" Elizabeth tensely asked.

"Why are you such a bitch all the time?" Mallory retorted with the same edginess.

"Mallory I really like your shirt," Jessica smiled, trying to ease the tension at the table and switching subjects again. Now she wished that she knew what was going on.

"Thanks, my mom gave it to me," Mallory nodded. David then held her hand.

"You're mom has bad taste," Elizabeth groaned, not letting it go.

"Excuse me?" she almost yelled and squeezed Silky's hand. Silk took this as a sign that she wants him to calm her down.

"Well she doesn't entirely have bad taste. She chose not to talk to you anymore…" Elizabeth sighed, "Yeah Jim told me that you guys have a bad relationship."

He told her that before he really knew about Mallory and her parents. That was when he still hated her. Now he wished he could take that all back.

"No my parents are dead. Yours are alive and they chose not to talk to you! They made the right choice sending you away," Mallory said angrily, "Yeah, Jim told me that too!"

The blonde then shot out of her chair. She had so much force that the chair fell on its back behind her.

"This whole thing was a joke!" she looked at OC and Rizzo.

Mallory then trudged away. Silk stood up to watch her go. He then looked back at his teammates, unsure of what he was supposed to do. He wanted to go after her, but was it his place?

"Go!" Rizzo pointed towards the door.

"Sorry," he shrugged, before walking away.

Just when the group thought the scene was over, Elizabeth acted up.

"Jimmy, what the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you tell her that?" Elizabeth looked flushed and near tears.

"Elizabeth…" Jim tried.

"Go fuck yourself," she sighed.

Elizabeth got up and Jim stood up immediately after she did.

"Don't follow me!" she ordered in a stern voice before walking away.

"How are you gonna get home?" Jim ignored her wishes and followed behind her anyways.

The two couples that remained at the table were speechless. The girls were confused about everything. OC couldn't stop thinking about Mallory looking at him when she said it was a joke. He hoped to God that Jessica wouldn't pick up on any inner meaning. Meanwhile, Rizzo was thankful that no one knew of his one night stand with Mallory but was still nervous someone might pick up that there was meaning behind that.

"Jeez, and all I said was that I liked Mallory's shirt," Jessica sighed.

"Do they always act like that around each other?" Donna asked.

"No," Rizzo sighed angrily.

"Yes," OC groaned at the same time.

Jessica and Donna looked at their significant others, both unsure of what was exactly going on. Something was not right. Instead of making the Sunday brunch even worse, neither of the girls brought it up. They sat in silence for a bit, then talked small talk for the rest of the meal and pretended nothing happened.

Meanwhile Jimmy went after Elizabeth and followed her to the parking lot, even after she told him not too.

"Elizabeth!" he called out to her, for what he felt was the millionth time.

She walked all the way to the end of the parking lot then stopped. She turned around and walked back to Jimmy who wasn't very far behind her. Jimmy was walking towards her and when they met up she looked very pissed.

"What the hell is your problem, Jim?" she shoved him, not very hard. In a girly type of way, but with some anger to let Jim know she wasn't kidding around.

The goalie didn't know what to say. She looked really mad and he didn't know why. Sure he told the guys a bit about Elizabeth, but he didn't know that any of them would tell Mallory about it. Even if they did, he didn't see why she cared so much. If she didn't want people to know than she shouldn't have told him.

"Seriously! What?" she shoved him again, this time a little harder.

Jim held her hands trying to calm her down and stop her from pushing him. He 'shhhed' her trying to make her less angry.

"Liz…"

"Elizabeth," she almost screamed interrupting him.

"Elizabeth, I'm sorry! I told like the guys because I wanted them to be nice to you! You're a good person once people want to get to know you," Jim tried.

"Ohhh great so now you want the guys to feel sorry for me?" she was near tears.

The ice skater trusted him to not tell anybody. She didn't like being vulnerable in front of people and it was very hard for her to do that. When thinking back to it she thought that it might bring her closer to Jim, but she was wrong. Jimmy didn't know what to say.

"You know what? Fuck you!" she began to cry, then put everything on the line because she just didn't care anymore "I feel so stupid! I liked you and I told you that because I liked you and then you go and…."

Elizabeth's yelling was suddenly silenced. As soon as Jim heard that Elizabeth liked him, he kissed her. He just wanted her to stop yelling, crying and being angry. He thought that kissing her would make her feel better. And also, he kind of wanted to do it.

The kiss lasted for a couple of seconds. The pair stopped and Jim's hands were still on her face. He was breathing her scent in, with his eyes still closed. He was totally into the moment. He felt something.

"You're a fucking idiot," she pushed him away; "This isn't some stupid movie, Jim. You can't just kiss me and have everything be okay!"

"Elizabeth…" Jim tried again.

"Don't bother! I'm walking home! Just don't talk to me, okay?"

The blue eyed girl walked angrily away. She thought so many times of kissing Jim, with him sweeping her off her feet. But with these circumstances and after everything he's done, it wasn't something she wanted. It was a nightmare, not a fairytale.


	22. Let's Go Fly A Kite!

**LTJM: Thanks for the review!**

**Peachy65: Yeah a lot happens in this chapter with David and Mallory! I hope you enjoy!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Well unfortunately no more Elizabeth and Mallory blow ups in the near future. They'll both be in the chapter, but separately, which is probably better for both of them!**

**Lulu: Mallory was catty, you'll see some more of that this chapter!**

**AN: Here is the next chapter! This is pretty long. When first doing this I was going to divide it into two chapters, but I feel like I need to get this story going. I hope you like it! Please review! I love them very much and they inspire me to write!**

**Chapter 22**

"Mallory, Mallory!" Silk yelled to her as she was walking away, "Get back here!"

The brunch they just went to was a complete disaster and concluded prematurely with Mallory storming off and David going after her. Mallory shook her head and looked back at Silk. She rolled her eyes and kept walking until she reached her car. Silk was following behind and reached her when she was looking for her keys in her purse. She moved her hands in a quick, violent motion. She wanted to leave.

"Mallory, stop!" Silk held onto her hand stopping her from looking in her purse.

"What!" she shrieked, looking up at him with an upset look on her face.

"Just calm down, Mal," Silk took a deep breath.

He knew she was pissed about having to be with OC and his girlfriend and Elizabeth coming was just the tip of the ice berg.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I want to drive," David insisted, "You're in no mind set to drive."

"Don't tell me what to do, Dave!" she growled.

She heard noises from the other side of the parking lot and saw Elizabeth walking out tearfully, with Jim following her. She wanted to approach her and began walking but Silky held her arm, holding her back.

"It's not worth it!" he told her, "Now give me the keys! I'm driving!"

Mallory shrugged and shook her head. His hand was still on her arm. She eyed it and Dave saw this and quickly took his hand away.

"Here," she threw the keys with force at him.

Silk almost fumbled with them but caught them. They both got in the car and Dave drove away quickly without Elizabeth and Jim noticing them. It was silent for the first minute then David wanted to talk.

"Mallory," David sighed, "What the hell happened back there?"

"Nothing," she shrugged, looking out the window.

"Look, I told you a million times that I'm sorry and you were acting fine before Elizabeth walked in. And this time you started it with her!" Dave tried to tell her that she had some wrong in the situation also.

"I laughed because she says she goes to church," Mallory chuckled, "She's a she-devil, man!"

"Well you laughed at Jessica and Donna for going to church and they take it seriously. Jesus, Mallory, you're twenty-two years old," Silk tried.

"What's the fuck is that supposed to mean?" the blonde asked angrily.

"I'm just saying that you didn't need to start anything with her!" Silk replied as they stopped at the red light, "You don't know what she would've done, but right now you're the one looking like the immature idiot."

"GO TO HELL!" she yelled before opening the door and getting out of the car.

"OH DAMMIT MALLORY!" he honked the horn in anger. He didn't want the conversation to end like this.

Mallory was trudging down a one-way street and he couldn't follow her. She didn't want to be followed. Silk just decided to go back to the dorms. She would have to see him if she wanted her keys back.

…

The next day, Monday, the guys had practice. They had a road trip coming up next week so Herb worked them hard to make sure they were prepared. Practice was rigorous and each one always seemed harder than the last one. Afterwards, the guys showered and watched some tape in the basement of the arena.

Watching the tapes made Jim nervous. He would see the Russian goalie, Vladislav Tretiak, and freak out. Tretiak was too good. The tapes almost made it seem impossible that anyone could score on him. He was only a few years older than Jimmy and the American knew that he would never be that good. How could he protect the net as good as Tretiak?

Once the tapes were done, Herb held a short team meeting then let the guys go for the rest of the day. It actually wasn't late, around two, so the guys had a lot of time to rest. When they got out of the basement, the guys heard music being played on the rink. They knew it was Elizabeth. Most of the guys didn't bother going to watch her and opted to go out to eat instead, but Jimmy wanted to.

He and Elizabeth had gotten into a major argument yesterday and Jim wanted to apologize. Also, ever since the kiss with Elizabeth he wanted to talk to her. It was sort of weird, but he felt something there. Elizabeth clearly didn't but she told him she had liked him. Why, he didn't know. But he wanted to find out.

The song that was playing was "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from Mary Poppins. Boy, Elizabeth sure had an admiration for Julie Andrews. It seemed like half the songs she played were sung by her. The other half were disco songs that Mallory would vomit listening to. Jim then made a mental note to not bring up Mallory because she was the one that started the whole thing yesterday.

The brunette was smiling when she was practicing. Sometimes she would force a smile because she wasn't digging the routine, but this one was legitimate. When she smiled genuinely she looked beautiful. She didn't seem to notice Jim watching from the side and kept up with her routine. Jim looked around for her coach, Elaine, but he couldn't find her anywhere.

"She's pretty good, isn't she?" he heard a female voice from behind him

Jim looked behind him and saw her blonde coach standing behind him. She had a small smile on her face.

"Yes," the goalie nodded, "She's really great."

"And a decent skater too," Elaine joked, "You're Jimmy aren't you?"

"Ye...yeah," a confused Jim stuttered.

"I figured," Elaine said all knowing, "She talks about you a lot. I think she likes you. I guess you guys are official now?"

"No," Jim shook his head, "I just needed to talk to her."

"Give her a ride home," Elaine told him, "I have to go pick up my son at daycare anyways."

She had a son? Elizabeth never mentioned him. She talked about Elaine's boyfriend and that she never had attention from her because of that. Maybe she was all wrong. Obviously, Elaine was listening if she knew who Jim was. She seemed like she had an admiration for the young ice skater too.

"Are you sure?" Jim asked.

"Positive," the coach insisted, "Plus, she probably wants to talk to you after yesterday…"

"You know about yesterday?" Jim got nervous.

"Well when my kid comes home crying, I'm gonna ask what happened," Elaine told him.

Jim noted that she called Elizabeth 'my kid' and nodded. He didn't know what to say back to Elaine so the woman kept talking.

"Everything I've heard about you I think you're a good guy," she told him, "But if she comes home crying…I'll get my boyfriend to cut off your balls."

Jim gulped out of fear and stuttered, "Thank…thank you."

"Bring her home in one piece," Elaine patted his back, giving her blessing, before walking away.

After the conversation, Jim turned his attention towards the ice skater. She was finishing up her routine. Elizabeth was in the center of the ice giving bows to her pretend audience. She was glowing. Jim, being the only other person in the arena, began clapping and had a big smile on his face. He was hoping she would magically forget about what had happened. He was unfortunately wrong. As soon as she saw him, her smile turned upside down.

She shrugged as she skated off the ice. Jim was blocking her exit way so she knew she had to confront him. She just wanted to ignore him. She tried walking past him, but Jim wasn't going to let her go like that.

"Elizabeth…" he tried.

"Please, just let me go!" she sounded upset and asked in a nervous voice-cracking way.

"I just wanted to apologize," Jim sighed, looking into her eyes, "I'm sorry I told the guys about you're parents. I didn't tell Mallory, I swear! Someone else must've told her. But I was just telling them so they would give you less of a hard time."

"I didn't want you to!" she exclaimed, "I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I hate that shit."

"Then why did you tell me?" Jim asked.

"Because…" she paused for a moment to think. She didn't want to say anything she would regret, "Because I trusted you!"

"I don't think that's why," he replied, "I think it's because you liked me. And I think you still do."

"Oh what the hell do you know?" she shrugged, trying to walk past him. He blocked her path again.

She had never seen Jim take charge of a conversation like that. He was usually the one listening. Now he was confident, asking questions, and making sure that Elizabeth didn't walk away like she had in the past. Elizabeth was kind of turned on by this new take-charge Jim. When he wanted something, he was going to get it. Now he wanted answers and he wanted her.

"I know that I felt something when I kissed you yesterday," he told her, "And I think you felt something too. You were just too pissed to admit it."

Elizabeth looked down, now really unsure of how to respond. After a moment, Jim put his hands on Elizabeth's small face and tilted her chin up. He wanted to see what she was thinking.

"Well…yeah…" she smiled shyly.

"Ok," he let go of her face and snickered, "Well that's all I wanted to know. You can go now."

Elizabeth let out a light laugh when he moved to the side and shook her head. Was he trying to play hard to get? She didn't care. She put her hand on his arm, still with a smile on her face.

"Come here," she pulled him over.

Elizabeth then initiated the kiss. This time she was prepared and wanted it. They both did. The kiss was short, but definitely sweet.

"Wanna go out with me?" Jim chuckled, they had already kissed multiple times and their feelings were both obviously put out there.

"Like a date?" she laughed.

"Yeah," he nodded.

She then kissed his cheek, "I'd love to. How about tomorrow night? Pick me up around eight."

…

After practice, Silk didn't go out to eat like most of the other guys wanted to. He was pretty beat from the strenuous practice anyways. And, he needed to be in his room in case Mallory wanted to talk to him because he still had he keys and he didn't want to seem like an ass by preventing her from driving if she did want the keys back and he wasn't around.

Silk liked being by himself in the room every once and a while. He thought Verchota was funny and a good roommate but he liked being by himself sometimes. He wasn't by himself for very long though.

**Knock, Knock, Knock**

The hockey player went to get the door and saw his RA leaning against the side. She had a blank expression on her face so Silk couldn't tell how she was feeling. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest as if she was insecure and wanted to defend herself.

"Hi," she greeted him.

"Hey," he nodded as if nothing was wrong, "What's up?"

"Well I need to go to the store and I realized you still had my keys…"

"I do," he told her.

"Can I have them back?" she didn't want to play games.

"Sure…" Dave rolled his eyes. He went into his room and grabbed them off his dresser.

He turned around and saw that she now entered the room, as if she was checking to see if he was going to get them. Then Dave saw that the door was closed. Maybe she wanted to talk.

"Here," he handed the keys to her.

"Thanks," she shrugged, "And I don't like that you didn't give them back to me until I asked you. It felt like you were giving me a time out. And as you said I am twenty-two. I'm a little old for timeouts."

"I'm not going to apologize for taking them," Silk told her, "You weren't in a mindset to talk yesterday. This guaranteed me talking to you again. I just want to see if you're ok."

"Well you could've told me that yesterday. Instead you reprimanded me as if I was a child!" she complained.

"You know what Mallory…" Silk then stopped himself.

"What?" she asked in a bitter tone.

"Never mind!" he put his arms up in defeat.

"No! Tell me!" Mallory said, "I want to know! I have a right to know!"

"It wasn't just about you starting a fight with Elizabeth that got me mad," Silk said, "It's your attitude. You're elitist. You think that people that likes things or do things that you don't do are un-cool"

"That's not true!" Mallory argued.

"How do you feel about people who like ABBA?" Silk asked.

"They suck at life and have horrible taste in music!" Mallory answered.

"That's my point, Mal!" Silk exclaimed, "Like you laughed at everyone for going to church. Just because you don't doesn't mean it's not cool!"

Mallory took a deep breath and stood silently for a moment. She had a sad look on her face. She knew he was right. She couldn't help being that way, that's just the way she was.

"Well if it bothered you so much you could've told me earlier…" Mallory sighed.

Silk could tell that she was upset by what he told her. He was trying to tell her the truth without hurting her feelings. She's apparently not the best when it comes to criticism, which is odd because she gives it a lot.

"Look I'm sorry if I hurt you're feelings," Silk tried, walking closer to her, "I don't want you to think I'm like reprimanding you or anything."

"No you told me how you felt." Mallory said sadly, "I'm going to go now…"

"Mal…" Silk tried.

"Please, just let me go," Mallory said softly, "This was a waste of time."

The hockey player didn't put up anymore protest and Mallory left his room. He was confused because he wanted to know what Mallory meant right before she left. But he knew he couldn't ask her at that moment because it would make her more upset. Once she settled down, they could talk about it. Now it was just a matter of when.

…

The next night after practice the guys were trying to figure out what to do. They were kind of tired, but being in the dorms all night got boring after a while. Some of them wanted to hit up a bar, restaurant, or catch a movie.

"Well, I need to drop Jessica at the airport later tonight. So we're staying in," OC smirked. She was in the shower right now, which is why he wasn't with her.

"I'll be out doing whatever," Rizzo added. Donna left the day before.

"How about we see a movie? I heard 'When a Stranger Calls' is supposed to be scary," Mark suggested.

"Just because your kid sister said it was scary doesn't make it true," Mac teased his roommate.

"Shut up!" Mark chuckled.

Jim looked at the clock and saw it was seven-thirty. He had to get ready to go pick up Elizabeth now. He hadn't told the guys what he was doing though.

"See ya boys," Jim stood up and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" Verchota asked.

"I got a date," Jim tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"With who?" some of the guys spoke up. Jim hadn't been on a date since coming out here. He was always out with the guys.

"No one you know," the goalie lied.

"Oh my god!" Verchota gave a loud whisper, "Is it Elizabeth?"

"Ooohhhh," some of the guys teased.

Jim shrugged and shook his head, not knowing what to say. They knew he was lying. The cat was out of the bag.

"No, no, no!" Verchota joked, "Good for you Jim. She's hot. When you're done with her, just send her to my room."

Jimmy got really mad at that statement. He even reflexively clenched his right fist that was beside him. If he was OC than he'd probably go over and punch him in the face. No one should talk about her like that. But he was Jimmy, the calm one. He was the one that calmed down fights, not start them. This one was tough, but he just let it go.

"Well she wouldn't want you anyways," Jim joked, "She wants a real man."

"Ohhhhh," all the guys laughed at the burn.

"I'll see you guys later," Jim chuckled as left the room and unclenching his fist that no one knew about.

Jim got ready and left for Elizabeth's he showed up at her door right at eight. Elaine opened the door with a smile on her face.

"I knew I was right about you," she nodded.

Elizabeth then came up beside her coach. She didn't look at her, but rather Jim instead.

"You ready?" she asked.

"Yup," Jim nodded.

"Okay," then finally looked at the other woman, "Bye Elaine"

Elizabeth exited the house and the two began walking down the pathway towards Jim's car.

"Have fun you two!" Elaine called out.

Elizabeth didn't respond, but Jim looked back and waved to be nice. Elaine really didn't seem as bad as Elizabeth described. Jim made a mental note to talk about that later, but he wouldn't mention it tonight. Tonight was going to be stress-free fun.

"So where are we going?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's a surprise," Jim told her.

Elizabeth giggled, "Ok, just make sure it's indoors. It's kind of windy tonight!"

"What you afraid you're going to get blown away?" Jim teased.

"I'm nervous about my hair being in a million knots tomorrow," Elizabeth laughed.

"Trust me, what we're doing is fun," Jim reassured her.

The drive didn't last too long. Jim finally parked on a hill, where a park and soccer fields were. Elizabeth looked at him with a small smile. She thought they were going on a date, she never expected them to be necking all night. That made her nervous. All the guys that dated her just wanted to hook up. She thought Jim was different, maybe she was wrong.

"So what are we doing here?" Elizabeth asked.

"What do you think we're doing here?" Jim wanted to know what she thought.

"Well…I…I don't know," she nervously replied, "That's why I asked you."

"Ok," Jim nodded, "Sorry I'm being cryptic. Let's just get out of the car."

"Sure," she nodded, now more confused then ever. If they were going to neck, she'd rather do it in the car. It was chilly and windy out.

Jim and Elizabeth both got out of the car. Elizabeth stayed still, waiting to see what Jim was doing. He walked on his side over to the trunk and opened it. The goalie than pulled out a kite.

"After seeing you smile to that song. I knew you'd like it," Jim told her.

Elizabeth put her hands over her mouth and gasped. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't flown a kite since she was a little girl. She was happier about the fact that he wasn't instantly going into necking with her. The ice skater didn't realize it, but she was beginning to cry.

"What's wrong?" Jim was concerned. He thought he did a faux-pas.

"Nothing," she shook her head, and felt a tear on her cheek. She wiped it off, "This is the best date I've ever been on."

"It hasn't even started yet," Jim laughed.

"Yeah…yeah I know. This is just, uh, perfect. Thank you," she couldn't find the words to say.

"Anytime," Jim smiled, "Now come on! Let's go fly a kite!"

…

Meanwhile, the rest of the guys had a quiet night in the dorms. They were tired from practice and knew that they had a couple of away games ahead of them so they wanted to rest up. David hadn't talked to Mallory since he called her out. He thought that she would be calm by now and talk to him again. He was wrong.

He missed talking to her. She was a lot of fun to be around. Dave really hoped that one little thing wouldn't ruin what they had. They had a lot in common so it was really easy to talk to her about anything. But the hockey player didn't feel bad about telling her what he felt. He knew that she was being irresponsible and she should've realized that too. He wished their conversation didn't turn into an argument but there was no way to change that now.

It was pretty late at night and most of the guys were in their rooms sleeping or hanging out. Dave decided he should go see Mallory. He just wanted to feel her out, see if she calmed down.

He knocked and a few seconds later she opened her door. When she looked at him she gave him a sad look and looked down for a second. She then looked up to face him.

"Hey, are you ok?" Silk was concerned.

"Yeah….You were right…" Mallory said quietly.

"About what?" Silk asked, with a bit of a smile. He knew exactly what she was talking about but he never thought that she would admit it.

"I'm an elitist!" Mallory exclaimed, "And I'm not sorry about it. It makes me who I am! I'm not that mean…I just…it's who I am! Don't you like that?"

"Yes!" the hockey player answered, "I do."

"Good," Mallory nodded, "Everyone on the floor likes it. I'm fucking hilarious!"

"And modest!" Dave joked.

"Shut up!" the blonde giggled, lightly hitting him.

"So, are we cool again?" Silk asked.

"Like two little Fonzies," Mallory teased, "We're always cool."

"Good," he smiled.

"Yeah," Mallory smiled back, then changed the subject, "So, uh, how's you and Diana going?"

"I broke things off," Silk answered, "Things weren't working out."

"Wow! I'm sorry. When?" Mallory was curious.

"The day after the concert," Dave replied, "You're sorry?"

"Why then?" Mallory avoided his question with another one.

"I don't have feelings for her anymore."

"Really? Why not?" she was curious.

"Oh a couple of reasons…" Silk shrugged.

"Like…" Mallory grinned.

She knew that she was prying, but she didn't care. Mallory felt like an eighth grader trying to figure out if her crush liked her. She didn't care if she looked like a fool because now she was involved. The blonde felt like she needed to know what happened and she was going to make it her business to find out.

"Well I'd, uh, feel weird hooking up with her," the hockey player answered.

"Why?" Mallory gave him a weird, confused look.

"Because the whole time I'd be wishing it was you," he told her straight forward.

"Oh," she said softly, with a small smile. That was the answer she wanted to hear.

"Oh?" Silk just put himself out that and that was all she could reply with. He was a mix between embarrassed and pissed.

Mallory didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. After almost a minute of silence with Mallory looking at him, Silk wanted to bail. He felt like a fool.

"Whatever," he shrugged and shook his head as he began walking away.

"David," she blurted out while grabbing his arm.

"Wha.." Silk couldn't finish his short question. It was interrupted by Mallory pulling him towards her and kissing him on the lips.

Mallory's hands were on David's face and he wrapped his arms around her. They made out in the hallway for a good couple of minutes. Thank god it was late at night. When they were done, they still stayed in each other's arms. Mallory looked down at Dave's chest, while he rested his chin on her forehead. She gave out a small giggle. She sometimes did that after making out with a guy she liked.

"Why you laughing?" he whispered.

"I'm just happy," she looked up at him.

Silk kissed her forehead and smiled. The pair stood in silence for a moment longer, until they realized they were no longer alone.

"Awww! I knew you guys were together!"

Dave and Mallory looked up to see Jessica and OC. Jessica had all her luggage with her, so she must be on her way to take the red-eye back to Boston. Dave gave her a blank look and Mallory blushed. OC looked at them with a confused look. He didn't think that they would ever do anything. When Mallory noticed OC's expression, her red face turned normal again. She had nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Yes," Mallory nodded, "We are."

She then opened the door with her hand behind her back. While looking up at Silky she used her spare hand to pull him in. Before she went in, she nodded at OC and Jessica. She had finally made peace. The blonde then turned her attention to David and kept her eyes on him as she pulled him into her room. Now her focus was entirely on him.


	23. My Boy Lollipop

**LTJM: Jim and Elizabeth will be the couple of this chapter! But more Silk and Mallory stuff to come next chapter!**

**Peachy65: Silk and Mallory won't be in this chapter, but they'll be back soon! And concerning Rizzo, probably not. Everyone has a secret and that's hers ;)**

**Lulu: Elizabeth and Jim will be in this chapter! Hope you like it!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Jim and Elizabeth will be in this chapter. The Elaine thing won't come up for a while, but there will be a lot of drama surrounding that! **

**AN: Here's the latest chapter. It's not that long and it's all fluff. The next one will be similar with different people. But enjoy these next two chapters, because drama will be coming soon! Hope you like this!**

**Chapter 23**

The day after Jim's date with Elizabeth things seemed normal. Surprisingly, no one asked him about it before practice or on the ice. They didn't want to agitate him before practice. The guys knew that Jimmy was a private person, so asking him about it would probably annoy him. They didn't want him to have a bad practice. But that didn't stop Phil from asking after practice ended and they were getting dressed to go in the locker room.

"So how did your date with frizzy Miss Lizzie go?" Verchota teased.

Jim chuckled and shook his head, avoiding the question.

"That well, huh?" Verchota smirked, "How far did you guys go? From what I've seen she puts out first date, and that was when she wasn't legal!"

"Nothing much happened," Jim said shyly, "And I wouldn't tell you if there was."

"Ohhhh!" some of the guys laughed.

"Come on, Verchota. A gentleman never tells," Mark defended his teammate.

"So what are you guys anyways?" OC asked.

"I…I, uh, don't really know," Jim honestly answered.

"It's better that way. Keep her guessing. Just don't commit to anything," Phil advised Jim.

"Jimmy, I don't think you should take any advice from a guy who has never been in a relationship," Mark joked.

A few of the guys laughed. Mark never really did that kind of stuff in the locker room. He didn't really talk about girls because he didn't date since he got to Minnesota.

"From the guy who hasn't been on a date here yet," Phil kidded back.

"I'm off dating for a while. Until I know whether I have a spot," Mark told him.

Mark was here to play hockey and he didn't want anything or anyone to fuck that up for him. He wanted to do it for himself and his father, who coached the 1976 team that didn't do very well.

"So you don't like anyone?" Jim asked.

Mark paused for a moment, and then shook his head, "Nope."

The guys began filing out and Jim happened to leave the same time that Mark did. They walked together outside.

"Hey, thanks for helping out with Verchota," Jim said.

"No problem," Mark nodded, "I mean its Phil and he's just teasing, but it can be annoying sometimes."

"Yeah you're right," Jim agreed.

"And don't listen to him about labeling your relationship. If you want to you should, but if you want to have fun that's cool too," Mark told him.

"Yeah I have no idea," Jim said honestly, "I think I'll wait a couple more dates before I decide what I want."

"Good idea," Mark replied.

Jim and Elizabeth had a date the next night for dinner and a movie. Jimmy was going out of town with the team for a couple of games away so they wanted another date together before he left town.

"What's out right now?" Elizabeth asked, before talking a bite of her spaghetti. They were at the dinner portion.

"I don't know," Jim tried to think, "Oh…uh…I think it's called 'When a Stranger Calls'."

"Is that that scary movie?" Elizabeth gave him a look. She was not a fan of horror movies.

"Yeah," Jim nodded, "But don't worry I'll protect you."

"Shut it!" she giggled. She didn't want to admit she didn't like them because she was actually afraid of them, but he figured that out on his own.

"So do you want to see it?" Jim asked, "Because if not we can like…hang out in my room or something."

Elizabeth looked at him and took a deep breath, "Let's, uh, see the movie."

"Okay," he was a little confused because she didn't seem into the movie idea so he gave her a lot better alternative, "Then maybe we can go after?"

"Yeah," she nodded, not seriously.

Jimmy had lied to Phil and the guys in the locker room. They had hooked up in the car for a good hour after they flew the kite. It was only kissing because Elizabeth held onto Jim's hands the whole time. It kind of annoyed him because she hooked up a lot. Why wouldn't she want to really with him? Was there something wrong with him?

After the movies, Jim and Elizabeth went back to Jim's dorm. Buzz was Jim's roommate and he was with Gayle at the apartment tonight so he had the room all to himself. Elizabeth had been there before and sat at the foot of the bed. He sat next to her. Jim looked at her as she was talking but wasn't listening. He knew as well as she that they were just doing the small talk before hooking up. Everyone did it. It was the talk that didn't really say anything and that people knew would suddenly end when someone started kissing the other. Jim was the one that initiated the make-out.

They started out at the foot of the bed and while kissing Jim started moving on top of her. Now they were both lying down. Elizabeth allowed this; she had been in this situation before on dates. Then she felt his hands slowly go up her stomach underneath her shirt. He wanted to go to second base with her. She called this 'getting fresh' after she read it coined in one of her favorite novels. Again, she allowed him to do this because she had experienced this before.

Jim stopped kissing her and looked down at the pretty girl lying on his bed. He smiled at her. She looked shyly at him and blushed.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she said quietly.

"Now?" Jim questioned.

"Yeah," she nodded, as she pushed him gently aside and got up, "I'm sorry. I'll be back in a minute."

The brunette put walked quickly and quietly out of Jim's room. Elizabeth went into the hall bathroom for girls. Apparently no one except for the RA had their own bathroom. The ice skater was thankful for that because it meant that there was no way that she would run into her.

Walking inside a few girls were showering or washing their faces in front of the mirror. The radio was playing loudly in the background. They had an oldies station on. A song with an interesting beat started and the girls squealed.

_My boy lollipop, you make my heart go giddy-up_

The girls started singing along and dancing to the song. Elizabeth chuckled a bit. It was 'My Boy Lollipop' by Millie Small. She remembered her mom used to sing that to her when she was a little kid when she was tucking her into bed.

The girls saw Elizabeth laughing and smiling. When Elizabeth noticed this she got nervous and hustled to the closest stall. She didn't want them to think she was laughing at them. She was smiling at the memory. The brunette loved the song.

When Elizabeth was done, she quietly exited the stall and hoped no one would notice. The song was still on in the background. The two girls in the mirror, who Elizabeth remembered meeting briefly once but forgot their names, were still singing along. Elizabeth walked over to the sink and washed her hands, making sure not to make eye contact.

The blue-eyed teen suddenly felt someone nudge her shoulder. She looked up and saw one of the girls laughing and still singing to the song. She was singing into her comb. The girl than moved the comb close to Elizabeth's face. She wanted her to sing along with them.

_I love ya, I love ya, I love ya so_

Elizabeth began singing along with them. Elizabeth ignored the fact that this was so random and just sang and danced to the song with them. The eighteen year old felt like a little girl again. She looked at the girls and could tell that they did too. They all embraced the moment. She remembered them more clearly now. They asked her if she wanted to hang out once then Mallory said something about her to them. But Mallory wasn't here now to say anything.

Once the song ended the girls were giggling. Elizabeth never had this type of college experience before but it seemed like a lot of fun. She would never get to do that because she wasn't planning to finish college.

"You're Jimmy's girl, right?" one of them asked, "Elizabeth, is it? I think we met before?"

"Yes," the brunette nodded shyly, "I'm sorry, I don't remember your names. And I don't know what we are."

She smiled when the girl said 'Jimmy's girl'. It felt like a 1950s scene with someone's girl or someone's man. She wondered what it would be like to be 'Jimmy's girl'.

"I'm Katie," the blonde told her.

"And I'm Becky," the red head introduced herself.

"Hi," Elizabeth smiled, "It's nice to see you again."

"You too," Katie nodded, "I hope things with Jimmy and you work out. He seems happier now."

Elizabeth left the bathroom with a big smile on her face. They were really nice. She hadn't had the best experience talking with other girls for a while. The girls in high school were rude to her and she never had time to make friends and hang out because she was always practicing or on the road at competitions.

Jim's door was slightly open and Jim was on the bed exactly where she left him. She closed the door and made sure it was locked. They didn't want to be interrupted.

"Took long enough," Jim teased as she walked over to him.

"I was talking to some of the girls in the bathroom," she explained, as she sat down at the edge of the bed.

She sat with her legs together and fiddled with her hands. The ice skater looked nervous. Elizabeth figured going to the bathroom would cool her off. She was wrong.

"Let's get back to where we started," Jim smirked as he pulled her back towards him. Elizabeth didn't protest and she pulled toward him.

He lay on top of her again as they were making out. It seemed normal for a couple of seconds and then Elizabeth felt his hand gliding up her shirt. He was 'getting fresh' again. The brunette began kissing him more vigorously than before. Then she felt his hands gliding back down her stomach. He was now trying to unzip her pants. The couple stopped kissing for a moment to catch their breaths.

Jim had unzipped Elizabeth's bell bottoms. He looked at the girl underneath him. She looked really uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?" he was concerned.

"No," she shook her head, "I think I need to go now."

"What's wrong?" the goalie asked.

"Nothing," she pushed him off of her and onto the bed.

The brunette got up and quickly zipped up her pants. She tried straightening her hair out a bit so she didn't look like a complete hot mess when she arrived home. She looked in the mirror and saw some red. Beard burn. Jim didn't have a thick one, but even with five o'clock shadow it still did some damage.

"Do you not want to have sex with me or something?" Jim asked in a harsh tone that scarred Elizabeth.

"Not really," she shrugged him off, shaking her head.

"Whatever, you'll have sex with every other guy that pays for a hot meal but not me," Jim was annoyed, "And now you're actually legal!"

"You want sex? Is that all I am to you?" Elizabeth now raised her voice back at him.

"No," Jim lowered her voice to try to calm her down, "You're seriously not! I'm sorry I yelled… I'm a guy, my mind like functions that way."

"Whatever," Elizabeth clenched her teeth, "And for you're information I don't put out to every guy I've ever been on a date with! I'm a virgin!"

"Wh…what?" Jim was shocked.

Elizabeth's face turned bright red and she looked away from him. She didn't want him to know that. She didn't want anyone to.

"I gotta go…" she began walking away.

Jim sprang up from the bed and got to her before she reached the door. She grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. It was a big huge, he squeezed her very tight. He kissed her temple and rested his head on top of her's. He was very happy. When he saw her before with all those guys, he hated that. They all seemed like jerks. He was so happy to learn that she didn't allow them to take advantage of her. He couldn't stand thinking that they had before. Now he was at ease.

Elizabeth was confused by Jim. First he's mad that she won't have sex with him and now he's giving her a huge hug.

"Jim?" she said his name.

"I'm sorry about before," Jim told her, finally releasing her from the hug, "It's okay."

"What's okay?" she gave him a look.

"That you're a virgin," he nodded, "It's okay."

She gave a small smile. She was still really embarrassed but glad she told him. This wasn't the first time she had been vulnerable with him, but every time she is he makes everything okay. She suddenly stopped questioning herself if this was going to work. He made her feel happy and that her thoughts and fears were okay. That was the moment that she realized she needed him more than he'll ever know.

"What are we?" she asked the inevitable, "Are we a couple going steady? Are we just having fun? I'm sorry if I'm killing this but I need to know."

Jim was silent for a moment. He wanted her in his life. He then dashed over to his drawer and pulled something out. It was a sweatshirt. It was his BU Terrier Hockey sweatshirt. It had his name and number on the side.

"Here," he gave it to her, then chuckled, "I guess that makes you my girlfriend, now?"

"Yes," she smiled, "It does."

She pulled him into a kiss. It last a couple of seconds. When they stopped Elizabeth put on the sweatshirt.

"Can you take me home now?" she asked.

"Sure," he nodded.


	24. I Want To Hold Your Hand

**Peachy65: Thanks for the review! There are some Jim and Elizabeth here, but the drama isn't going to happen for another few chapters!**

**LTJM: Thanks for reviewing!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for the review! Elizabeth and Jim have a small part in this chapter too.**

**Lulu: It's a good song! I'm glad you liked it!**

**AN: Sorry it took so long to update! I was actually going to post on Tuesday but then my PC experienced this horrible virus called Think Point. It's a nasty bugger and I feel bad for anybody who gets it. I finally got it out of my computer, I hope! Anyways, here it is. I hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 24**

With only a few days left in Minnesota before the guys had to go on a week-long road trip, Mallory and David as much time as they could together. David was busy with practice and hanging with the guys and Mallory's time was taken up with classes, school work, and her own friends as well. But they tried to make it work. They spent many nights together in the RA's room. And it wasn't just hooking up, they would talk too. They would talk for hours at a time.

This particular morning Mallory woke up early. She looked over at David sleeping peacefully next to her. She smiled and tried to get up to go to the bathroom. This was a little difficult because Silk had his arm around her. Mallory was luckily able to move it and snuck off the bed to go to the bathroom. When she came back, Silk was wide awake.

"What are you doing up?" she laughed, "Go back to sleep while you still can."

"I heard you get up. You're not very sneaky," Silk laughed, "And then I looked over at your wall. Jeez, Mal, you have so many albums!"

"I'll take that as a compliment," she smiled.

"Which is your favorite? Like what's your favorite song of all time?" Dave was curious, "If you have just one…"

Mallory nodded, "I do. I have lots of likes and loves and favorites. But yes, I do have one definite favorite song."

"What is it?" the hockey player asked as he stroked her arm.

"I'll let you listen," she was ticklish and giggled to his touch.

The blonde got up and walked towards her wall of albums. Silk stayed lying in bed and checking her out. She had a tee-shirt and panties on. He discovered she didn't like sleeping naked the first night they spent together. She said it was because she didn't want to be naked during a surprise fire drill, but in reality it made her feel kind of awkward.

"Got it!" she exclaimed after a minute of rummaging through her collection of forty-fives.

"It's really early? Don't you think people will be pissed?" Dace asked.

"Well if they are than they should talk to the RA…oh wait," the blonde teased.

She took the album out of the case and turned it around to make sure that David didn't read the band's name in the center of the large disc. Mallory than put the album on the record player and it began playing. She started singing along.

_Oh yeah I'll tell you something_

_I think you'll understand_

_When I say that something_

_I wanna hold your hand_

"'I Wanna Hold Your Hand?'" David chuckled.

"What?" she shook her head as she kept singing to the lyrics and sat on the bed.

"Nothing!" Silk put her hands up in defense, "It's just such a huge song. Out of all the songs ever recorded I thought you would have chosen something a little less known."

Mallory then got up and began dancing to the song.

_Oh please say to me_

_You'll let me be your man_

The blonde then reached her hand out to the hockey player, "Come on! Dance with me!"

_And please say to me_

_You'll let me hold your hand_

Silk shook his head and smiled at her. She looked really cute, but the girl couldn't sing. It was funny watching her try. Also, Silk couldn't dance. It was embarrassing but true.

"Fine," the RA giggled as she jumped on the bed next to him to sit down, "Be a sour apple!"

Mallory was tired from her burst of energy and laid back down on her back. Dave joined her and put his arm around her. They listened to the rest of the song in silence.

"So out of all the songs in the universe, why is this one your favorite?" the hockey player asked after the song ended.

"My daddy took me to see them. I saw their concert at Shea Stadium when I was a little girl," Mallory explained.

"What?" Silk was stunned.

"Yeah," Mallory nodded, "It was right before my dad was deployed to Vietnam. And we all went to New York City to see him off. And he took me, just me. Randy was too little to go so my mom stayed back with him. It was like the last thing we did together, just the two of us."

"Wow," Silk said, "I'm sorry I brought that up."

"It's okay!" she insisted, with a small smile, "It was a good memory."

"So you went to the Beatles at Shea Stadium and Woodstock? Jeez, what else did you do?" David chuckled.

"Nothing," Mallory shook her head coyly, "I'm actually a boring person."

"Sure…." Dave was unconvinced.

"So," Mallory tried switching topics, "Why didn't you tell me your favorite song?"

"Because it's not as meaningful to me as it is to you," he told her seriously.

Anyone who knew Mallory knew that her passion was music. He was just trying to look deeper into what she loved and why she loved it.

"But if you asked me about hockey…" he teased.

"Fine," she giggled, "Who's your favorite hockey player?"

Then the alarm went off. Silk groaned. He would rather spend the day lying in bed with a pretty half-naked girl than go to practice. The hockey player was closer to the side table and turned off the alarm clock.

"I guess I'm going to have to take a rain check," he sighed as he got up and began dressing.

"I guess so," Mallory said sadly.

"I'll see you after practice," he kissed her forehead before leaving.

Mallory lay back down in her bed and smiled. If that conversation was any indication of her day, than it would be a good one. She loved the fact that he wasn't doing anything like OC. OC and Mallory only hooked up. David talks to her. She figured in her mind that because he isn't acting like OC than he won't be like him. David might want a relationship just as much as she.

….

The guys had a rigorous practice to get ready for their week-long road trip. When the guys were getting off the ice, they saw Elizabeth who was ready to get on. Jim stayed to talk to her for a bit while the rest of the guys carried on. The guys didn't really bring anything up until after they got in the locker room and showers were done.

"I still can't believe they're together," Silk told OC as they were getting dressed.

"Me neither," the defenseman shook his head, "I think she's better than before, but I still don't see what he sees in her."

"Same here," Dave agreed with his friend.

"Speaking of weird relationships…what's up with you and Mal?" OC chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Silk asked, if this were any of the other guys it wouldn't have been this awkward to talk about her.

"I mean you guys have just started hooking up. Where's that going?" Jack questioned.

"I don't really know what we are…" Silk answered honestly, "Why?"

"No reason," OC put his hands up in defense, "Mallory and I are dead and we've been dead for a while. I was just wondering that's all."

"Ok," Dave nodded, "But even if we were 'together' together than I wouldn't ask you if that was ok. I'm not looking for your blessing."

"Good," OC told him, "Because I'm with Jessica. I don't give a shit what you and Mallory do."

"Alright," Silk replied with some tone. OC was trying to be stand-offish but the way he spoke made him sound very rude and Silk didn't respond well to that, "Why did you call Mal and I weird?"

"I don't know," OC laughed, "I guess it's because it was so random. Like we had some flirting and connection build-up, but you two just started out of nowhere."

"What do you mean? We went to that concert together," Silk said.

"True," OC forgot about that, "But still…"

"But still nothing. You were trying to move on from your ex-girlfriend with her and it didn't work. I hardly call that a real connection," Silk told him.

"Silky, come on. I'm only trying to figure out what's going on here," OC replied.

"To be honest, we're just having fun. But if anything happens than you'll find out with everyone else. A couple weeks of being hook-up buddies doesn't qualify you to interrogate me on Mal," Dave shot back.

"Woah, dude, we always talk about girls," OC really wasn't hoping to turn this into a fight, "Jeez, chill out."

Silk let out a deep sigh. He didn't want a fight either, "Sorry, man."

"I hope Jimmy or one of the guys with a car finishes up soon," OC tried changing subjects, "I want to take a nap."

"Dude, you always want to take a nap," Jimmy joined the conversation. He just stepped out of the shower.

"What time are you gonna be ready?" OC asked.

"Wait a few minutes," Jim laughed, "I just need to get dressed."

"Alright," OC chuckled, "So, how's your lady?"

"You don't need to answer that," Silk shrugged, as he brushed past his friends. He was now looking for another ride.

…..

After practice ended, the guys went back to the dorms to relax. Meanwhile, Mallory was busy all day. She had a busy day with classes and spent time in the library researching for a paper. She didn't get back to the dorms until after dinner that night.

Walking down the hallway, Mallory saw Jimmy's door cracked open. She hadn't spoken to him since the brunch incident when she caused a scene and walked out. The RA didn't want Jim to have any ill will towards her, especially since they were just starting to become friends. So the blonde decided to make a little stop in the goalie's room.

Mallory tapped lightly on the door and Jim opened the door a couple of seconds later. He was in his lounge clothes. When he saw her he didn't give a happy or mad expression on his face. His face was completely blank.

"Hey Jimmy," Mallory gave a half smile, "I'm really sorry about that whole brunch thing. I know what I did was really immature but I blame OC for it. He shouldn't have allowed them to set it up in the first place. And I couldn't not go after Dave said we would because that would make the girl's suspicious, ya know?"

"You shouldn't apologize to me…" Jim sighed.

"Jim?" Mallory heard a voice from behind her.

Jim looked ahead of Mallory and Mallory turned around. It was Elizabeth. She was with Jim and left the room to go to the bathroom, which is why Jimmy left the door slightly ajar.

"Mallory just came here to apologize," he looked at the blonde and nodded at the brunette.

Mallory rolled her eyes at Jimmy and sighed. She then turned to Elizabeth.

"I'm sorry," she shrugged.

"Thanks," the ice-skater sighed, looking at Jimmy rather than Mallory.

"Later, Jimmy," Mallory walked away.

Elizabeth gave Jimmy a small smile and walked into Jim's room. He followed behind her and closed the door.

"Well that was good," Jim nodded.

"Are you serious?" Elizabeth asked, "You made her apologize!"

"And she meant it," Jim really thought.

"Are you deaf?" Elizabeth laughed, "She was anything but…"

"I don't understand why you two hate each other," Jim said honestly.

"I hate her because she hates me. I have to hate her too. It's a girl thing," Elizabeth explained.

"That's stupid," Jim told her.

"I know," Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "But who cares about Mallory. Let's just relax."

Jim pulled her into a hug and kissed her temple, "Yeah."

After Mallory walked away from the awkward scene, she felt really stupid. She suddenly saw David leaving his room and her face brightened up. David saw Mallory and walked towards her.

"Hey," Mallory saw David smiling at her.

"Hey," he greeted back, "I haven't seen you all day. What's up?"

"It's been a long day," he nodded, remembering of his conversation with OC, "How about you?"

"Same," she agreed, thinking of her conversation with Jimmy, "Tiring."

"Yeah," David said, "So do you, uh, wanna go to the bar or something?"

Mallory smiled. Another point for David, OC never took her out.

"I would love to," the blonde grinned.

Mallory and David began walking down the hall, side by side. Mallory was really happy about this. It showed growth in their relationship.

"Hey," David whispered in her ear, "I want to hold your hand."

David and Mallory intertwined their fingers. The moment almost gave Mallory goose bumps. She tried acting as cool as she possibly could though. She looked up at David and gave him a small smile. Then, she pulled his held hand around her shoulder. He then kissed her temple. Suddenly, all the stuff that happened today was an after thought.


	25. Refrain

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: OC is in this chapter and you see a different side of him. Elizabeth and Mallory will have some stuff in the following chapters, it's more drama!**

**Peachy65: I'm happy you like the Silk and Mallory stuff. They aren't in this chapter as a couple. Elizabeth is here and I hope you like her here. You see a different side of her.**

**Lulu: Thanks!**

**LTJM: Thank you!**

**AN: Here is a quick filler. I actually really like how it turned out. You see characters just interact and it's pretty candid. I think this shows it's about the halfway point of my story. I hope you all like it! Please review when you are done! After this the drama will explode, so don't worry my drama-loving readers!**

**Chapter 25**

The guys had a week long road-trip and arrived back to the U by Sunday. Most of the guys were lazy and lounging around. Mark decided to do some laundry. His clothes were all dirty by the time he got back for the road trip and he didn't want to wait until later to do it. He gathered up his clothing and left his room, with Mac planning on coming down a little later. When Mark closed his door, Mallory opened hers. She had her dirty laundry too, and a portable radio at the top.

"Hey Mark," Mallory smiled, "How was the trip?

"Great," the hockey player nodded, "We won all but one of the games. I think things are really coming along."

"That's awesome!"

"So you going down to do laundry?" Mark asked as the two began walking together.

"Unfortunately," Mallory said sadly, "Hopefully no one will be down there though. I hate waiting around for machines to open."

"Yeah I hear ya," Mark agreed.

The pair went down the stairs and reached the basement. They walked down the hall and got to the laundry room. It wasn't completely empty, one other person was there, but it was someone they wanted to see. It was Jimmy, sitting on one of the seats waiting for his clothes in the dryer.

"Hey Jimmy," Mark nodded.

"Hey Jim," Mallory smiled.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Jim asked them both.

Mark and Mallory put their stuff into the washing machines and sat down next to Jim. Mallory put her small portable radio on to one of the machines. She was going to wait until she needed to put them in the dryer before she went upstairs. The three began talking and joking around. They did so for a while.

The RA looked at Mark for a moment and realized she didn't really know him. They talked and he was nice to her, but she never learned facts about his life or anything like that.

"So Mark," Mallory nodded, "Where did you go to school?

"University of Wisconsin, Madison," Mark answered.

"Wow!" Mallory nodded, "I almost went there!"

"Really?" Mark was a little surprised. He only knew people in-state that went there. People were too poor to go anywhere else.

"Mark, you realize if I went to University of Wisconsin at Madison we would've been best friends!" Mallory exclaimed seriously.

Mark chuckled, "Yeah, because the school has thousands of students. I'm sure I would have found you!"

"You would've," Mallory told him, "I would've made sure of it!"

"Why didn't you go to Wisconsin?" Jim questioned.

"The U offered me more money. I only really applied to three schools: the U, Wisconsin, and Smith," Mallory explained.

"If you went to Smith, than we could've been best friends," Jim made fun of Mallory in an excited voice.

"I hate you," Mallory laughed, "Besides, we wouldn't of because Smith is in Western Mass and BU is in Boston."

"It's a small state," Mark said.

Just then the three heard voices come from the stairs. People were coming down. They stopped talking to see who was coming. It was OC and Mac walking together with their dirty laundry. They were greeted by Mallory, Jim and Mark. Just then Mallory's radio turned to a new song. It was familiar.

_Hello, it's me  
I've thought about us for a long, long time_

Mallory laughed, "I love this song! I haven't heard it since move-in day."

"We all heard it then," Mac told her.

"You blasted it!" OC exclaimed.

"Jeez, so much has changed since move-in," Mallory reflected.

"Like what?" OC asked.

"Well, you and Mac are best friends and…." Mallory was cut off.

"We aren't best friends," Mac shook his head.

"Then why were you guys walking together?" Jim asked.

"We bumped into each other," OC said.

"Sure," Mallory nodded, not seriously then continued her list, "Jim is dating someone barely legal, and I've slept with almost the whole first line…"

The guys laughed. She was very nonchalant about saying that. Mallory sounded like one of the guys. She was so chill and easy going, that's what they all liked about her. But Mallory was internally kind of stunned that she said it with no-sweat. It made her sound like a whore.

"Mac, I have a lady for you," Mallory nodded, changing subjects.

"Oh god," Jim chuckled.

"What's her name?" Mac asked, sounding interested.

"Annie," Mallory nodded, "She's so cute! She has red hair!"

"I don't know…" Mac shook his head, "I'm not much into red heads."

"Why?" OC asked.

"I've never dated one, but I feel like they'd be trouble," Mac said.

"Maybe you dated one in a former life," Mark kidded.

"Yeah, probably something like that," Mac laughed.

"And she could be my best friend," OC joked, "Just kidding! I would never befriend a red!"

Mallory cracked up, "You're awful!"

"But luckily we live in this life…where Mac and OC are best friends," Jim went back to Mallory's joke from before, which caused Mallory and Mark to laugh some more.

"We're not friends!" Mac tried.

"I can hardly stand him," OC shrugged, semi-seriously.

"Deny! Deny! Deny! Just like Richard Nixon," Jim joked.

"Speaking of politics, I read an article that hinted that Ronald Reagan might run for president," OC told them.

"Maybe he can cause some change," Mac tried. He wasn't a very political person, but he knew the climate was bad.

Mallory made a barfing noise, "No way am I voting for a B-movie actor! I'm not voting in this election at all!"

"Try being a little more dramatic, Mal," Mark teased.

"Shut up!" she giggled at him.

"When's he going to announce it?" Jim asked.

"Sometime next month," OC said, "I wish Teddy could run a real campaign, but he'd never win because of Chappaquiddick."

"Yeah," Jim, the Massachusetts native, nodded. He knows all too well about that incident.

The buzzer went off. It was Mallory and Mark's loads in the washer. The pair walked over and put them in the dryer.

"I'm gonna do some homework," Mallory said.

"Yeah, the Packers should be on soon…" Mark nodded.

"Why aren't you staying with your stuff?" OC asked, jaw dropped.

"Chill out, Boston!" Mallory joked, "I'll come back in an hour. You and Jim can leave. You're stuff will be okay!"

"I'm not leaving my stuff," Jim protested. He still had a half an hour in the dryer.

"You guys are crazy!" Mark laughed, "See you all later."

"Bye"

"Later guys"

Jim then gasped and sprang up, "Shit! I gotta go!"

"What about you're stuff?" OC asked.

"I'll get it in a bit," Jim began running out of the laundry room, not before yelling, "Have fun being best friends!"

"We aren't friends!" Mac shrugged.

"Jeez, these people," OC shook his head.

…**.**

**Knock, Knock, Knock**

Elizabeth Gallagher waited outside her boyfriend's door. She hadn't seen him in a week

because he was on a road trip with the team. She was excited to see him to find out how he did and tell him about the new routine she was working on for the national championships. They were only a few short weeks away and she was excited. She couldn't believe she qualified. If she made the top three than she would be going to the Olympics. Her dream was so close now.

The ice skater waited a couple more seconds and knocked again. He didn't answer. She looked around and shrugged. She didn't see anyone in the halls, but saw a lot of the guys doors open. She knew they were back. Instead of leaving, Elizabeth decided to wait. Jim probably had a good reason for not being there and if he didn't than she would be there to yell at him.

The brunette leaned against of the wall and slowly slid down into a sitting position. She opened her purse and took out a copy of her book. She flipped through the pages and got to where she left off with the earmark.

"Elizabeth," she heard a voice close to her call. It wasn't Jimmy.

Elizabeth looked up and saw Silk sitting with a couple of the guys in the room across from her. He was with Verchota, Rizzo, Bah and Ramsey. Silk was sitting at the head of his bed. Verchota was on his bed as well as Rizzo and Bah. Ramsey was sitting at one of the desk chairs.

"Hi," the teen said quietly.

"Jimmy is doing laundry," Silk told her, "You can wait in here if you want."

Silk was acting surprisingly cool. He was nice to her after the incident with her brother but the two hadn't really interacted since. Maybe the guys were trying to be nicer to her now that she and Jimmy were going out.

"Okay," Mallory nodded.

Elizabeth got up and entered the room across from her with book in hand. She wasn't going to read because it was rude to read in company that may have expected her to talk. She planned on putting it in her purse once she sat down. It felt kind of weird being with the guys without Jimmy. She just wanted to keep her cool.

"What book is that?" Silky asked.

"It's _The Cheerleader_," Elizabeth said as she sat on the foot of Silk's bed. It was one of her favorite books and that's where she coined the phrase 'getting fresh'. After getting fresh with Jimmy so much she really wanted to read it.

"Sounds good," Verchota said, not seriously.

"It is!" Elizabeth exclaimed, "It's pretty raunchy too."

"Really?" Verchota now sounded interested, "You don't seem the type that's into that."

"Oh sure," Elizabeth laughed, "You can borrow it for your next road trip. I'll underline all the fuck scenes for you."

The guys all cracked up. It was a reference to the movie from the hockey gods, _Slap Shot_. They couldn't believe she knew that movie, let alone would reference it.

"You like _Slap Shot_?" Silky was impressed.

"I love that movie!" Elizabeth smiled.

"I don't know," Bah was stunned, "You seem more of the _Ice Castles_ type."

"Oh I hate that movie!" Elizabeth laughed. She now felt at ease with these new guys she hadn't really talked to, "That would be so unfair! The only reason she won was because she was blind!"

The guys laughed again, this time at how blunt she was. They mostly had never seen her laid back side, except for Silk when they went to the bar. They never realized how funny she was. They wished they saw this side of her more.

"So, OC told me that Reagan is going to announce his campaign next month," Rizzo told the guys, trying to switch subjects.

"Isn't he the actor from California?" Bah asked.

"Maybe he'll legalize marijuana!" Verchota joked.

"I don't think I'm gonna vote," Elizabeth shook her head, "If it's Reagan versus Carter than none of the candidates really appeal to me."

"I'd vote for Reagan," Ramsey nodded, "We need a change."

"That's not the type of change I want," Elizabeth muttered.

"So Elizabeth, tell us about the fuck scenes from your book," Silk laughed, not wanting to get into a political conversation. All those went right over his head.

Elizabeth giggled, "I'll underline them for you! It turns out that you don't need a high school degree to do that!"

The guys laughed at another one of her _Slap Shot_ references. Suddenly Jim came rushing in. His teammates nodded and acknowledged his entrance. Elizabeth looked up and smiled.

"Hey Jim," his girlfriend said.

"Hey," the goalie nodded, "Sorry I was doing laundry."

"It's fine!" Elizabeth chuckled, "I got to sit her with these fine people!"

Elizabeth got up and stood next to her boyfriend. They were getting ready to leave. The guys all said their goodbyes, realizing that was the most fun they had ever had with Elizabeth present.

**Please review! Next chapter is drama! Here's a little preview:**

"But something tells me that something is going to happen at the party tomorrow. I have a bad feeling about it."

….

"I've never told anybody that before"

….

"Are you okay? You're, uh, shaking."

…..

"Jeez, look at him! He's completely wasted right now!"

…..

"LOOK OUT!"

….

"I'm leaving town for a while..."


	26. Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

**LTJM: Thanks for the review!**

**Peachy65: Yeah Mallory is a joker, she sometimes says stuff before really thinking of it!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: I'm glad you liked Elizabeth with the guys! And yeah I love Slap Shot, behind Miracle it's my favorite hockey movie!**

**AN: Thanks for everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I'm happy you liked it. Here's the big drama. I separated it into two parts because it was so long. I really hope you like this one and please review :) **

**Chapter 26**

The week went by pretty quickly with more vigorous practices and some home games. It was now Friday night and the guys all went out to a bar to celebrate a victory. Everyone went except Mark. He racked a lot of ice time and was absolutely exhausted. He had a ton of stamina on the ice but he couldn't imagine the guys who had the same amount of stamina off. He decided to just chill in his room and call it an early night.

Some of the girls went out with the guys. The last day of their midterms was today and they were in the mood to celebrate. The single guys would love having them around. Mark didn't mind about not seeing the guys because they had an off day tomorrow and there was a huge party going on at one of the frats. The team all planned on going, including Mark.

While lounging in his room watching TV, Mark got up to use the communal bathroom for the hall. He left his room and saw Mallory leaving her room at the same time. He was surprised she wasn't out with Silky and the rest of the guys. They were the only two people on the floor right now. Then he saw it. She was carrying a large suitcase.

"Oh hey, Mark! What's up?" she greeted him as if everything was normal.

"Mallory, what are you doing?" Mark questioned, eying the suitcase.

"I'm leaving town for a while…" Mallory answered with a small smile on her face.

"What? Why?" the hockey player was confused.

"It's the end of my midterms," the RA took a deep breath; "I need to get out of here."

"What about Silky? What about the party tomorrow night?" Mark asked, trying to talk some sense in her. He knew she was planning on going to the frat.

Mark read Mallory's facial expression and it said it all. She was serene despite doing such a hasty act of trying to leave her duty for the weekend. She had calm way of speaking, which in a way irked Mark.

"Dave and I…" she took a deep breath, "…I don't know what we are."

"Mallory, have you thought…" he was cut off by the blonde.

"Come with me, Mark," her eyes widened.

"Why…why are you asking me?"

Mallory looked away and smiled. She then shook her head and looked back at the hockey player.

"I take that as a no," she chuckled, "Well, I'm going to go now."

"Mal!" Mark tried to stop her, "At least tell me where you're going…"

"Mount Rushmore," Mallory nodded.

"Why Mount Rushmore?" Mark remembered Rizzo said that Mallory lied about her mom being there during the wedding. That place must have some significance for her.

"My parents' ashes are there," she explained, "And I want to tell them about my exams."

"Oh," was all that Mark could say.

"Don't worry about me," the RA instructed, "I'll be back by Monday."

"How…how far away is it?" Mark asked.

"About ten hours," Mallory knew all too well, "But it's night and less traffic. I can get there in eight I think. Drive in the night, be there by morning. All I need to do is fill my gas and then I'm on the road."

"Well, uh, be safe," Mark nodded.

Mallory chuckled and shook her head, "Thanks. I'll see you Monday."

Mallory walked away with steady steps, leaving a baffled Mark in the hallway. He couldn't understand how she could leave like that without telling anyone. The only reason he knew was because he happened to leave his room when she was. And what about Silk? They were kind of an item. What would Mark tell him?

Mark went to the bathroom and then went back to his room. He was definitely more awake after that conversation with Mallory, but he still didn't want to go out. He didn't want to see Silky. Instead he read his _Sports Illustrated_ and planed on his early evening. After about a half an hour, Mark heard someone trudging down the hallway. Then he heard a heavy item being dropped. Mark got up to help the person who dropped something out. He opened his door and saw Mallory sitting against the door of her room. She threw the suitcase herself. She looked emotionless.

"There was no gas," she shook her head out of disbelief. Her eyes were glassy, "I just wanted to get away. I don't want to be here."

The country was in the middle of a gas crisis. Some days there was no gas at all and on others cars would line up and people would wait for hours for their turn at the pumps. Mallory was very low on gas and wouldn't make it too far out of town without a refill.

"I'm sorry," Mark walked over and picked up her suitcase. He then leant his hand to help her up.

"Thanks," she said softly once she was on her feet, "Can you, uh, please not tell anybody about this? That I wanted to leave."

"Of course not," Mark nodded, "Everything happens for a reason. Maybe fate wanted you to have an awesome time at the party tomorrow."

"You're always an optimist, Mark," Mallory told him, "But something tells me that something is going to happen at the party tomorrow. I have a bad feeling about it."

"Maybe you just need to rest," Mark tried, "I'm sure you'll feel better tomorrow."

Mallory rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well, good night."

"Night, Mal."

The next day the guys rested up for the party that night. Everyone was looking very forward to it. It was at a big frat house that was known for throwing awesome parties. The Minnesota guys even knew a couple of the brothers so they could get in. Elizabeth was pretty excited herself. This was her first frat party and she liked that she was beginning to get along with Jimmy's teammates. The only one that really hated her was Mallory, but after her half-ass apology, Elizabeth really didn't want to try to be nice to her.

Elizabeth got ready for the party early and Jimmy picked her up. They went back to the dorms to leave the rest of the guys. But Jim picked his girlfriend up early so they hung out in his room. Jim's roommate, Buzz, wasn't around so it was just the two of them. They spent most of it making out on Jim's bed.

"I'm really excited for tonight," Elizabeth said during a pause.

"Me too," Jim agreed than began kissing her again.

They made out for another couple of seconds then Elizabeth stopped for a breath, "And I'm especially excited that Buzz won't be around tonight."

"That's what I was talking about," Jim teased.

Elizabeth giggled, "Yeah I love sleeping in your arms. But tonight I'm going to be wide awake."

"That sounds perfect," Jim began kissing her again. He didn't think that they were going to do it that night, but every time they hooked up she always let him go a little farther.

They made out for a couple more minutes until they heard a loud knock on the door.

"Jimmy, Elizabeth put your clothes on! We're going to the party now!" they heard Verchota shout and a few guys laughing in the background.

"I guess we gotta go," Elizabeth smirked.

"Damn," Jim shook his head.

The couple got off the bed and Elizabeth grabbed her purse while Jim got his keys. They left Jim's room and saw the guys all walking down the hall. Verchota was gone and no one was really paying attention to them. They followed the pack and the team all met up in the parking lot.

"Ok we need to pick designated drivers for tonight," Verchota announced.

"Jimmy," Silk looked at his friend.

"Alright I'll be one. I'm assuming you're gonna be in my car," Jim chuckled.

"Yeah, me and Mal," Silk told him. Mallory gave Jim a half smile, not looking very amused.

Other car arrangements were made and everyone got in their assigned cars with their designated drivers. Jim's car consisted of himself, Elizabeth, Mallory, and Silky. Jim and Elizabeth were in the front and Mallory and David were in the back.

"This is going to be awesome," Jim shrugged to himself.

The beginning of the car ride was silent. No one could really talk in a group conversation. The last time that tried to happen was at the brunch. By now, it was well known that Elizabeth and Mallory didn't get along. Jim and David knew better than to start a conversation with everyone. Jim turned on the radio.

"Now we're back to our Neil Sedaka all-night marathon," the DJ announced.

"Change it," Mallory groaned, "That guy sucks!"

"Don't change it, Jimmy! She's a closet fan," David laughed, "She has an album by him on her wall, I saw it."

"It was a gift," Mallory looked away from him.

"Whatever," Silk chuckled, then put his arm around Mallory and whispered, "I wish 'Piano Man' was on instead."

"Same here," she smiled up at him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Silky kissed her temple and Mallory looked out the window, not focusing on anything. Elizabeth looked at them for a second in the rearview mirror when neither were looking. She couldn't help but feel envious. She wished she was there with Jimmy. It was well known on the team that Mallory and David weren't official but he often spent the night in her room, and it was a lot more than just snuggling. Elizabeth wondered if she had sex with Jimmy would it be like that. She always figured him doing that kind of stuff would be the build up before sex, but now seeing Mallory and David, the ice skater wasn't sure.

Elizabeth was brought back to reality when the car suddenly stopped. Jimmy tapped her shoulder.

"We're here," he told his girlfriend.

Silky and Mallory got out of the car first. The pair walked confidently into the party with the rest of the team. They had all been to college parties a million times, Elizabeth had not. She wasn't nervous though. Jim held onto her hand and the couple entered the house behind the rest of the team.

The party was quite the scene. A lot of people were there. There was beer pong, the kitchen was full of shots and other alcoholic drinks, guys and girls were smoking pot out on the patio, and couples were dancing to the music. Elizabeth eyed the beer pong table. She had played it a few times on dates and wasn't too bad.

"I'll be your partner," Mac offered, "Since Jimmy can't drink and all."

"Thanks," Elizabeth smiled at the forward.

Jimmy didn't care that he couldn't play. He just wanted Elizabeth to have fun. Building up to that week she talked about her stress over the US Championships. She really wanted to place. Jim hoped this party would de-stress her. So Mac and Elizabeth began playing beer pong with a couple of the frat guys, and Jim sat on a couch nearby with a couple of his teammates.

"You're pretty good," the opposing player in a red polo told Elizabeth after a couple minutes of playing.

"Thanks," she blushed, he was kind of cute.

Meanwhile Mallory was outside smoking pot with a couple of the frat guys. She didn't know where David was but the last time she checked he was still in the kitchen taking shots. They went to the bar together only once, and that was enough for Mallory to take. David drank…a lot. He drank a lot of hard liquor which got him very drunk. Mallory just hoped he didn't get too drunk so she wouldn't need to baby-sit him.

"Hey," she heard a voice behind her.

Mallory turned around after taking a puff and passing it to one of frat guys. It was OC.

"Hey, OC," she nodded. The two never had a conversation alone together since the break-up. She felt kind of awkward.

"Silky's in the kitchen," OC pointed behind him towards the house. He didn't really know what to say either.

"How bad is he?" Mallory rolled her eyes.

"He's getting there," OC told her.

Mallory just shook her head, "Well you can't stop him after he starts."

"You don't need to tell me twice," OC chuckled.

Mallory got the joint back and offered it to OC, "You want some?"

OC nodded, "Sure."

OC took the joint from her hands and placed it between his thumb and index finger, he had done this before. He took a big puff and absorbed it all in before exhaling. They both figured smoking pot together would ease any tensions, and they were right.

"Feels great right?" Mallory laughed.

"I haven't smoked since the last time we smoked," he told her, passing the joint back to her.

Mallory nodded in acknowledgment and took the joint. OC then stuttered for a moment before saying something, "I, uh, I never thanked you, for not telling Jessica about us."

"You're welcome," Mallory gave a small smile; "I want to move past that whole thing, just like you. And I don't believe in starting unnecessary drama."

"Then how do you explain your beef with Elizabeth?" OC joked.

Mallory laughed, "Because I don't think I need to like her like the rest of you guys."

"Fair enough," OC nodded.

Mallory took a deep breath. The joint was pretty much burnt out. She looked in the house to face the inevitable; she had to check up on a drunk Silky. He was funny, sure, but he was also a hot mess. Mallory really hoped he wasn't as bad as OC made it seem like he was.

"Well, I gotta check up on David," Mallory gave a jokingly annoyed look.

"See ya later," OC nodded.

"Peace," she giggled as she made the peace sign with her hand. She first did it just to say good bye, but after doing it she realized that it meant much more than that. The blonde was now at peace with OC. It was a good talk.

Mallory then left the patio and OC joined another group with a newly rolled joint. Meanwhile, the beer pong game just ended. Mac and Elizabeth lost to the frat guys, but it was pretty close. They went into overtime. After the game, Elizabeth left the scene and went to find Jimmy still sitting on the couch talking to a few of the guys. Elizabeth smiled as she watched him joke around with his friends. She then walked up to him and sat on his lap. She gave him a big kiss on the lips.

"What was that for?" he chuckled when she released. He could smell the alcohol on her breath but it wasn't that bad. She was still sober.

"I just wanted to," she grinned, "I'll be right back, I need to go to the bathroom."

Elizabeth got up and almost walked away but Jimmy kept hold of her hand, preventing her from going. He got up and this time he began kissing her.

"One for the road," he smiled, after they let go.

Elizabeth bit her lower lip in a big smile. Jim let go of her hand and she began walking away with an even bigger grin on her face. She didn't need to have sex to have what Mallory and Silk had. When Elizabeth was walking, she bumped right into Mallory, who had red eyes. But despite this, she looked like she was on a mission. They didn't acknowledge each other; Elizabeth continued to the bathroom and Mallory went to the kitchen.

When Mallory stepped into the kitchen, where some people were doing tequila shots. David just finished one when he eyed Mallory enter.

"Hey babe," he exclaimed, excitedly.

"Oh, god," Mallory shrugged. He was really drunk.

"You want a shot?" he asked rather loudly.

"No," Mallory told him half-heartedly, "I'll have one with you later though."

Mallory left the kitchen and looked around the living room for someone she knew. She saw Jimmy sitting on the couch with a few of the other guys. Elizabeth wasn't there and she left not too long ago.

'Hopefully she won't be back for a while,' Mallory thought to herself as she began walking toward the couches to see her friend.

"Hey Jimmy!" Mallory nodded.

"What's up, Mallory?" Jimmy nodded.

"Well I just smoked up with OC and Silky got drunk in the kitchen," Mallory laughed. It sounded kind of ridiculous, but who cares it's a college party.

"Really? Jim was stunned, more so by OC and Mallory hanging out than Silk getting drunk. Silk got drunk a lot, that wasn't much of a surprise.

On cue, Silk stumbled out of the kitchen with a few of the other guys. He saw Mallory and Jimmy and started walking towards them.

"Jeez, look at him! He's completely trashed right now!" Jimmy laughed before his friend's arrival.

"Hey, Mal, ready for that shot yet?" David asked. They both smelled heavy alcohol on his breath.

"In a bit," Mallory nodded, "But you need to promise me that you're not going to drink anymore!"

"Why not?" David almost looked disappointed.

Before Mallory could answer, Elizabeth walked towards them in a rush. She ignored drunken Silk and Mallory and looked right at her boyfriend.

"We need to go!" she told him seriously, she looked really pissed off.

"What? Why?" Jim was confused.

"We just gotta, okay?" she yelled over the music. A party-goer then bumped into her and she stared at him go.

"I don't want to go yet though," Jim told her.

"Fine! Than I'll walk!" she groaned.

"Alright, we're leaving," Jim shook his head, annoyed. Just a few minutes ago she was so happy and now she was acting like a bitch.

"We'll come with you," Mallory volunteered herself and Silky, "I think he's done for the night."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Silk laughed.

The four left the house and got back to Jimmy's car. They sat in the same seats like they had before. The car ride back started off silent. Then Jim turned on the radio to again diffuse the tension between the two girls in the car. The song being played was 'Rainy Jane', another song by Neil Sedaka.

"Oh fuck!" Mallory groaned, "This shit again! How many damn Neil Sedaka songs can they possibly play?"

"It's a marathon, Mal," Jim answered.

"I don't care," Mallory sighed, "Can you change the channel?"

"Mal…" Jim tried.

"Jimmy, just change the channel," Elizabeth said softly. She did not want to hear this argument.

"Shut up, Elizabeth nobody asked you!" Mallory exclaimed, finally letting out her urge to snap at her that night. She was actually annoyed by the fact that she had to take care of David and took it out on Elizabeth.

"I was agreeing with you!" Elizabeth told her.

"Whatever," Mallory shrugged.

"Ahhh," Silk laughed at Mallory, "She owned you!"

"Shut up!" both Mallory and Elizabeth exclaimed at the same time.

Jim changed the channel and it was Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting". It was perfect for the mood of this car ride right now.

"Spot on, man," David cracked up.

The rest of the car ride was silent. When they got back to the dorms it was still silent when they got out of the car. Elizabeth trudged off first towards the building and Jimmy followed her. Mallory stayed behind while Silky threw up on the sidewalk. They then walked slowly back together.

Jimmy and Elizabeth went inside the hockey player's dorm. Elizabeth sat down on the bed and didn't look at Jimmy. Jimmy walked over to her.

"What's up with you?" Jim asked, sitting down next to her.

"Nothing," the brunette said softly.

"Are you tired or something?" the goalie asked.

Elizabeth hesitated for a moment, "Ye..yeah."

"Well I thought you said you were going to be wide awake tonight," he stroked her arm.

"I'm not anymore," she pushed his arm away and moved her body farther from him.

"Jeez, what the hell, Liz?" Jimmy was getting agitated, "I told you I'd wait. That's a lot more than most guys would do."

"You don't want to wait anymore?" Elizabeth asked angrily.

"I'm just saying you shouldn't be mad at me right now. You should give me credit for waiting for _you_," Jim told her.

Elizabeth shrugged and shook her head. She just wanted to kill him right now. The way he said 'you' sounded so condescending to Elizabeth. The ice skater tried to act older than her age, but to her sex was a big deal. And she didn't care if she was acting like a baby when it came to that subject but she was going to wait until she was ready.

"You know what, Jim, go to hell!" Elizabeth got off the bed and began walking away.

"Elizabeth!" he called out for her, as he stayed sitting on the bed.

She ignored him and slammed the door shut behind her. The goalie got up with intentions to go after her, but he stopped himself at the door. He realized she needed space right now. He didn't think any of his actions caused her to cuss out.

"Probably on her period," Jim rationalized to himself. It even more sense to him because she demanded to leave after coming back from the bathroom.

Instead of going any further, Jim turned the lock on the door. He left it unlocked so when she inevitably came back she could get in. Now it was just a waiting game.

….

Meanwhile Mallory and David were walking down the hall. Mallory helped him along the way. He had his arm around her shoulder pretending he was in charge but Mallory wouldn't do anything with him tonight. That would just be pathetic. The pair stopped in front of the door of the room that David shared with Phil.

"Hey, Piano Man," Mallory got his attention, "Where's your keys?"

David used his free hand and searched his pockets. They came out empty. Mallory gave him a look.

"I can't find them," Silk explained.

"You must've forgotten them in your room," Mallory shrugged.

"Son of a bastard!" the hockey player drunkenly joked.

"Come on," Mallory chuckled, "You can crash in my room tonight."

"Sweet," Silk gave her a suggestive look.

"Only to sleep," she smiled as the pair began walking down the hall to Mallory's room.

The couple got to the room and Mallory opened the door. They went inside and Mallory threw her keys on the desk. She excused herself to go to the bathroom. A minute later, she got out of the bathroom and saw Silk passed out on her bed. He was lying on his stomach and snoring very loudly. His body took up most of the small twin-sized bed.

The RA shook her head at the sight, "I need a cigarette."

She didn't want to disturb David and she wanted to get out of her room. She loved smoking in the fresh air. It relaxed her. And tonight was the perfect night to do it, not too hot and not too cold. She grabbed her keys, pack of cancer sticks, and left a sleeping David.

Mallory walked out of the residence hall expecting to be alone so she could peacefully smoke her cigarette. She was wrong. Someone was sitting on the bench in front of the residence hall. It was about a hundred feet away. Mallory walked that way so she could light her cigarette in the fresh cool air. While getting closer she realized she knew who was sitting on the bench. It was Elizabeth.

"Dammit," Mallory whispered to herself.

She looked at the bench and saw Elizabeth was shaking. It wasn't that cold out and she was wearing a coat, no need for her to shiver like that. But after a couple of seconds she didn't stop. Mallory took a deep breath trying to figure out what to do. She seriously considered ignoring her, but she didn't. She remembered Mark not ignoring her last night when she was sitting outside her room; maybe she could do the good dead back. Mallory walked a little closer to her, but still stood about ten feet away when she began talking. She didn't want to be that close to her.

"Are you okay? You're, uh, shaking," Mallory asked hesitatingly, trying to get Elizabeth's attention.

"It's cold out," Elizabeth looked straight ahead, glassy eyed. She knew it was Mallory but she really didn't care at this point. It reminded Mallory of how she felt last night when she couldn't leave town.

"Well you look like you're about to cry…" Mallory shrugged, "Did you and Jim get in a fight or something?"

"No I don't!" Elizabeth exclaimed to Mallory, this time looking at her. Her face was turning red; she was starting to tear up and said sadly, "And why do you even care? You're always mean to me."

"Whatever," Mallory shook her head. The RA began walking away to smoke elsewhere.

"You wouldn't understand!" Elizabeth called out to her.

Mallory stopped walking and paused for a moment. She took a deep breath and turned around. Elizabeth saying that made Mallory believe she was crying for help.

"Try me," Mallory said seriously, beginning to feel bad about lashing out at her in the car.

Elizabeth shook her head and put her face in her hands, "I can't."

Mallory walked toward the ice skater and reluctantly put her hand on her shoulder. She felt really weird about the situation but she was trying to help. Elizabeth didn't stop her or yell at her, which concerned Mallory. The two hated each other, if Elizabeth was ok than she would've bitched her out. That on top of the tears made Mallory go into RA mode.

"Elizabeth," she tried, "Tell me what happened."

Elizabeth lifted her face out of hands and wiped away the tears with the sleeve of her jacket. She took a deep breath and then started talking.

"You have to promise to not tell Jimmy," Elizabeth looked in her eyes for sympathy.

Mallory hesitated for a moment, and then relented, "Okay."

"At the party, uh, after I left Jim to go to the bathroom…," the ice skater started quivering, "…somebody tried to rape me."

**You know what to do!**


	27. Bad Blood

**Peachy65: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it and everything will come together in this chapter!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: I'm happy that you liked the Mallory Elizabeth parts. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Lulu: Thnaks!**

**AN: Thanks everyone fore reviewing! I love reviews so I hope to get more from this one! They really inspire me to write and update even faster for my awesome readers! Please review and I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 27**

"Elizabeth," she tried, "Tell me what happened."

Elizabeth lifted her face out of hands and wiped away the tears with the sleeve of her jacket. She took a deep breath and then started talking.

"You have to promise to not tell Jimmy," Elizabeth looked in her eyes for sympathy.

Mallory hesitated for a moment, and then relented, "Okay."

"At the party, after I left Jim to go to the bathroom…," the ice skater started quivering, "…somebody tried to rape me."

Mallory paused for a minute. Did she really hear what she just thought she heard?

"Wait…what?" was all Mallory could muster.

"Exactly what I told you," Elizabeth looked away, trying to wipe her tears again, then she looked back at the RA "Mallory….I don't know what to do."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Mallory got a seat on the bench. She was now sitting right next to Elizabeth.

"I don't want to talk about it," her voice was shaky.

"Please," Mallory looked sincerely into her eyes.

Elizabeth breathed in to prevent herself from crying, "Well I left Jimmy to go to the bathroom…and after I was done I opened the door and tried to leave and some guy pushed me in and locked the door. He pushed me down…twice…and tried taking off my jeans."

"Did he?" Mallory tried to ask as delicately as possible.

"No," Elizabeth shook her head, "After he pushed me down the second time I got up and managed to get out of the bathroom. Then I went over to you guys."

"Do you know who that guy was?" Mallory questioned.

Elizabeth paused for a moment and nodded reluctantly, "Yes."

"Well, who was it?" Mallory asked.

"It was one of the frat guys I played beer pong with. He was wearing a red polo but I don't know his name. But Mallory, it's my fault!" the ice skater exclaimed.

"How is that your fault?" the blonde wondered.

"Because when we were playing he complimented me and I smiled and blushed. Maybe he thought…" Elizabeth was cut off by Mallory

"That doesn't justify shit," Mallory told her, "Seriously! I can't believe you were just sexually assaulted."

Elizabeth shuddered at Mallory's last comment. She made it sound so real, which scared her, "Can you please not say that? It freaks me out."

"I'm sorry," Mallory nodded.

"What should I do?" Elizabeth asked.

"I think I know who you're talking about," Mallory told her, "I saw him tonight. He was the guy that bumped into you when we were all together right?"

"Yes," Elizabeth nodded. He was the guy she stared down while trying to get Jimmy to leave.

"His name is Eric," Mallory explained, "An acquaintance of mine is dating him. He's a world-class jerk."

Mallory then got up from the bench. Elizabeth gave her a confused look. What was she doing? Was she leaving her too?

"Where are you going?" the ice skater asked.

"I'm going back to the party," Mallory said, "I need to tell my friend that he's bad news."

"Mallory!" Elizabeth got up too, "You can't! I don't want to cause anything."

"You didn't do anything," Mallory put her hands on Elizabeth's shoulders, trying to convince her.

"Please don't go," Elizabeth tried.

Mallory took a deep breath. Elizabeth was obviously freaked out right now, and she couldn't blame her. She couldn't be alone and Mallory figured that Elizabeth needed to stand up for herself.

"Come with me," Mallory insisted.

"What? No way!" Elizabeth didn't seem too thrilled about the idea.

"Face your fears. It will help you move on if you do," Mallory tried to convince her.

"Ok…okay," Elizabeth nodded reluctantly.

The pair began walking into the parking lot. Mallory intended to take her car. It didn't have a lot of gas left but the frat house wasn't too far away. She could make it there and back without breaking down.

The two girls got into the car and at first it was completely silent. Elizabeth couldn't help but remember the last time they were in a car alone together. It was the first time they met. They hadn't really gotten along since. Now Mallory was sympathetic, helping her out.

"You don't let any guy ever do that to you…" Mallory said tensely while looking at the road ahead of her, "…you gotta fight back and no one will hurt you…"

Elizabeth looked at her with her mouth slightly open but no words were able to come out. She didn't know what to say. She felt like Ponyboy, a character in one of her favorite books called _The Outsiders, _in the car part right after the climatic rumble. Mallory would be characterized as Dallas, trying to sympathizes and teach a lesson but unsure entirely how to in that moment. The characters were sitting just like this.

"…you hear me?" Elizabeth's thoughts were cut short by Mallory giving her a stern look. They were stopped at a red light.

Elizabeth nodded and spent the rest of the car ride staring out the window, hoping to never reach the final destination. Conversely, Mallory drove with anger and force. She couldn't wait to get back to that party. The car then came to a sudden stop and Elizabeth perked her head up. They arrived.

"You ready?" Mallory turned to the younger girl as she turned the ignition off.

"Mallory," Elizabeth breathed, "I'm sorry. I really don't think I can do this…"

Mallory paused for a moment. She didn't look very surprised. She then gave a small nod of understanding.

"Okay," she said, "I'll go. Lock the doors."

Mallory then looked away from Elizabeth and opened the door. She stepped out of the car and closed the door. She began her strut into the house. She got inside and it seemed even crazier than it was before and a lot more people had shown up. Mallory ignored pretty much everybody; she knew what she needed to do. She was on a mission.

Meanwhile Mark and Mac were sitting on the same couch that Jimmy had sat on earlier. They were talking to some of the girls when they saw Mallory walk in. She didn't see them sit on the couch.

"I haven't seen her in a while," Mark pointed her out in the crowd to his roommate.

"I thought she left with Silky, Elizabeth, and Jimmy," Mac replied, "Maybe she wasn't all partied out yet!"

They watched Mallory talking to a girl for a few minutes. The girl was very intrigued with what she had to say and then suddenly and angrily left. Mallory walked away from the conversation with a small smile on her face. She was very proud of her accomplishment. Now her friend was going to yell at Eric for what he did and Mallory did not want to stay for that blowup. She planned on leaving the house and driving herself and Elizabeth back to the dorms.

While walking through the house she felt something crush against the bottom of her shoe. She must've stepped on it. She moved her foot to see what it was, hoping it wasn't glass or anything like that. It took a moment for Mallory to see what it clearly was. They were a pair of keys, with an old Red Sox key chain. They were David's. Mallory leant over and picked it up. She held it to eye level and examined them. They were definitely David's. She gave them a quick spin in her hands then put them in her pocket, feeling lucky that she found them.

After Mallory's key delay she proceeded to walk out of the house. When she got outside she saw Elizabeth standing outside against the car, leaning against the driver's door. She tried going in, but at the last minute she couldn't. The brunette nodded at Mallory when she saw her and Mallory nodded at her back as she went down the steps. Mallory looked at Elizabeth as she walked on the pathway back to the car, and the ice skater's face went from a look of relief to a look of fear.

"MALLORY!" she screamed, "LOOK OUT!"

Before Mallory could react, she felt a giant force hit her back and before she knew it was on the ground. Mallory landed on her stomach and after the initial shock she turned her body around so her butt was on the ground and she could look up to see who pushed her. It was Eric.

"What the fuck is your problem?" he yelled as he walked towards Mallory.

Mallory knew she couldn't get up because it would force her to turn her back to him. She was too freaked out to do that, so instead she used her elbows to move away from him on the ground. Eric lifted his arm up in a violent motion, readying himself to hit the blonde on the ground. Mallory's eyes practically popped out of her head. Was he really going to hit a girl? Oh wait, he already did.

Suddenly, Mallory saw someone run up from behind her. It was Elizabeth. She put her body between Eric and Mallory. She used both arms to hold onto the arm Eric held up.

"Stop! What the hell are you doing?" Elizabeth yelled.

Eric used his free arm and pushed Elizabeth off of him. Instead of hitting the ground like Mallory, another body was there to catch her. To her surprise it was Mac.

"Mac?" Elizabeth looked up at the hockey player.

Mac used both arms to hold onto Elizabeth to make sure she wouldn't go anywhere or no one could get to her. It wasn't in a violent way. He held her protectively. Elizabeth then looked over to Mallory on the ground and saw Mark arriving to her. He lifted her up and put her behind him, without giving eye contact. He used both of his hands to hold onto her back, making sure that she wasn't going to be pushed again. Elizabeth couldn't believe they were there. How did they know?

And abruptly OC rushed onto the scene. Mac held onto Elizabeth, Mark had Mallory behind him, so OC went for Eric. As soon as he arrived he pushed Eric.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You can't hit a girl!" OC screamed.

"Dude, what the fuck is that accent?" Eric made a comeback, while pushing OC physically.

OC shook his head and swiftly punched him in the face. In the eye to be exact. Eric then fell to the ground.

"I'm from Boston," OC leaned down to Eric's on-ground eye level, "That's where we treat ladies with respect."

OC then stood up straight and kicked Eric in the nose. Now he was out cold. OC turned around to the others.

"Are you guys okay?" OC asked Mallory and Elizabeth, "We saw the commotion from inside. Sorry we didn't come sooner…."

Mallory's friend that dated Eric then rushed outside. She looked at the scene and looked at them all.

"Guys, you need to go now," she warned, "He's a brother. All the frat guys are coming for you. They'll be out in a sec."

Mallory, who had been silent for the whole ordeal, spoke up, "I brought my car. Let's go."

The group then walked quickly to the car. Mallory took the drivers seat and the guys let Elizabeth take shotgun. She looked really freaked out and they didn't want to burden her anymore that night. The guys all went into the back. Mallory sped off and the car ride was dead quiet for a moment. The guys could see Mallory's face in the rearview mirror. She looked freaked, they never seen her scared before. They honestly didn't know how to react or what to say. Mallory tried to ignore their stares and kept driving.

Elizabeth looked at the driver, giving her a sympathetic face. She felt so guilty. She really wished she had convinced Mallory not to go, than none of this would have happened.

"Mallory…." Elizabeth's voice became shaky, "I am so sorry."

Mallory took a deep breath and quickly turned on the radio with her eyes on the road. She didn't want to look at them; she didn't want them to know how she was feeling. The song on the radio was "Bad Blood". It was another song by Neil Sedaka.

_It coulda been me but it was you  
Who went and bit off a little bit more than he could chew  
You said that you had it made, but you been had  
The woman no good, no how, thinkin' maybe the blood is bad_

The chorus than came on and, in a surprising move, Mallory began singing along. No one else in the car was speaking, their eyes focused on Mallory. She still had her eyes on the road. So she was a Sedaka fan all along…

_Bad (ba-a-ad) blood (blo-o-od)_

_Brother, you've been deceived_

Elizabeth gave Mallory a confused face as she was singing. The driver eyed her at the corner of her eye. She took one arm at the steering wheel and tapped her, trying to get her to sing. She looked at Elizabeth and nodded. Elizabeth couldn't believe it, she was still in shock about Mallory getting hit and now she was singing. What was going on?

OC suddenly began singing along with Mallory and patted Elizabeth on the back to persuade her to sing along.

Mallory and OC continued singing and Mallory stopped for a moment to thank OC and looked at him in the rearview. She saw the other too and nodded at them to take their teammate's lead. Mac and Mark then began to sing along with OC and Mallory.

_Bad (ba-a-ad) blood (blo-o-od)_

_Is takin' you for a ride_

_The only good thing about bad blood_

_Is lettin' it slide_

Elizabeth noticed everyone singing and they were all looking at her to sing too. She then opened her mouth and started singing along with the guys. She sounded pretty terrible, they all did. They continued singing until the end of the song. When it was over Elizabeth had a small smile on her face. Mallory did this to make her feel better, and it worked a little bit.

"Thank you," she gave Mallory a small smile. No words could describe how thankful she was.

Mallory nodded back at her. She didn't just do that to make Elizabeth feel better, although that was one of her reasons. Mallory also did this to make herself feel better after what happened and get everyone to stop staring. Mallory dealt with the shock and grief in her own secret way, using music as her medicine and therapy.

The car then made a funny noise. The guys gave a confused look and Mallory hastily looked at the fuel gage. The car was running out of gas. Mallory looked up, panicked and unsure of what to do. Then she saw the bright lights, they were coming up to a gas station. She drove up to it and turned in. There was a gas station and dinner there.

"I don't know what to do guys," Mallory said, "I ran out of gas."

"We're at a gas station, Mal," Mac tried to point out the obvious.

"There's no gas," Mallory said, knowing all too well from the previous night's experience.

"Yeah there is!" OC pointed out the window. Outside was a big sign saying 'Gas Available'.

Mallory looked at the sign then suddenly turned her head forward. She put her face down on the wheel and sat in silence for a moment. No one knew what to say. They all thought that she was finally becoming upset about that guy pushing her. Mark knew better. She wasn't upset about that. She was upset because if she went to this gas station instead than she could've gotten away. Mark put his hand on Mallory's shoulder and the blonde perked her head up and Mark moved his hand away.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm good," Mallory said insincerely. She didn't know that Mark was that one that patted her shoulder.

Mallory turned on the car and with the last bit of fuel the car had left she managed to get it to the pump. Mallory got out to pump gas, leaving Elizabeth and the guys in the car.

"Do you guys want to eat?" Elizabeth gestured her head towards the diner next to the gas station.

"Sure," Mac nodded.

"Ok," OC replied.

"I'll pay," she gave the guys a small smile, "As a thank you, you know for helping us out."

"You don't need…" Mark was cut off.

"I want to," she said firmly.

The four got out of the car when Mallory just finished pumping the gas. She gave them a confused look.

"We're gonna eat in the diner," Elizabeth told her before looking to her feet.

"Oh," was all Mallory could say. Elizabeth wasn't hungry; she just didn't want to go home. She didn't want to confront Jim.

The five walked the hundred or so feet to the diner and were seated almost right away. Not too many people were there. They sat in a booth with Mallory and Mac sitting at one side, Mark and Elizabeth sitting on the other, and OC sitting at a chair at the head of the table.

"At least you found gas," Elizabeth started conversation.

"Yeah," Mallory looked down, "Yeah."

"Doesn't this place have a juke box?" Mac asked.

"It does," Mallory nodded, "How about you and OC take Elizabeth over and pick out a song."

"But you're the music expert," OC chuckled.

"You guys are all at the ends. And I'm too lazy to get up," Mallory gave a small smile.

"Okay," Elizabeth nodded.

Elizabeth, Mac, and OC all got up and walked to the other side of the diner to pick a song out on the jukebox. When they got there Elizabeth stood looking through song choices and Mac stood behind her. OC stood aside, leaning against the jukebox.

"So Elizabeth," OC began, "Come on, tell us what happened tonight…"

Elizabeth gave a funny face. She didn't want too many people to know, but they were involved now. They helped her out in a huge way, they deserved to know what happened.

"At the party, that guy tried to rape with me in the bathroom. But I got away," Elizabeth told them, "That's why I left because I freaked out."

"Does Jimmy know?" Mac asked.

"No, I didn't want cause trouble or anything," Elizabeth answered.

"Are you okay?" OC looked concerned, but in his own subtle way.

"I don't know," Elizabeth answered honestly.

"Next time that happens, you gotta scream or something," OC told her, going into big brother mode, "Or you come and find me."

"Or me," Mac nodded, "One of us can take care of him."

"Thanks," Elizabeth smiled, they were being very nice to her.

"Are you gonna tell him?" Mac asked, referring to Jimmy.

Elizabeth took a deep breath, "I probably should."

"He'll want to know," OC told her.

"I know," she replied. Telling him would be easier said than done, "Well enough talking about this…let's pick out a song."

Meanwhile, Mark and Mallory were at the table talking about what happened. Once Elizabeth, Mac, and OC left, they talked just the two of them.

"What happened tonight? Why did that guy push you?" Mark immediately asked.

"He was a jerk and I told his girlfriend," Mallory said.

"Tell me what happened," Mark tried, "You owe me that."

Mallory took a deep breath, he was right. She told him the whole story, about Eric attacking Elizabeth and how she told his girlfriend that he was bad news. Mark looked stunned after hearing that story.

"Jeez," Mark breathed, "Is Elizabeth going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine. We just need to give her some time," Mallory answered.

"How do you know, though?" Mark asked.

"Because…that happened to me too," Mallory looked right into Mark's eyes, "I guess that's why I was so ticked it happened to Elizabeth."

Mark didn't know what to say at first. Mallory looked down a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry…" Mallory blushed.

"Don't be," Mark nodded, "And you were okay?"

"Yeah, nothing happened. I got out of it," Mallory replied, "Wow…"

"What?" the hockey player was confused.

"I've never told anybody that before," she said honestly.

"Not even your friends? Or your brother? Or your mom?" Mark asked.

"Nope," she shook her head, "I just…I just couldn't tell them…anyone."

"Then why did you tell me?" Mark was curious.

Mallory chuckled to herself. She looked away quickly than back at him. The blonde smiled, "Because you have kind eyes."

Mallory always loved people's eyes. Mallory was fiddling with some of her silverware when she felt a warm hand touch hers. It was Mark's hand. He didn't know the words to say, so he gave her a small but sweet gesture. The touch only lasted a few seconds, until they heard a song being played on the jukebox. Their friends were coming back. Mark let go and both quickly moved their hands away from the table. The quick jerk of her hands caused her to lean on one hip. She felt a sudden pain on her side. She then remembered they were from David's keys. They were a bitter reminder that she was going to have to tell David about what happened too.

The three returned to the table right when the waitress came to take their orders. They all ordered their food and spent the rest of the time talking and joking, trying to get Elizabeth and Mallory's minds off of what had happened. They didn't talk about it for the rest of the night.

When they got back to the dorms after eating, they didn't see anybody. It was kind of a relief, because no one really wanted to bring what happened up. They had a good time at the diner and during the car ride home, they didn't want to damper it now. Elizabeth knew she had to talk about it with Jim though. They all parted for the night and Elizabeth walked into Jim's room, which was unlocked. When he saw her he looked very relieved. She kind of hoped he would be asleep, but seeing him awake made her happy. He really did care. Elizabeth closed the door and locked it. Jim got up and gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry I was being an asshole," he told her while in the embrace.

Elizabeth hugged him back and was the first to let go, "Jimmy, I need to tell you something."

"Why? What happened?" he asked.

"At the party," she stuttered as she began, then she took a deep breath to calm herself, "when I went to the bathroom, uhm, some guy tried something on me. That's why I wanted to leave. I'll be okay though."

Jim looked very concerned and held his girlfriend's hand, "Are you okay? Like he didn't…"

"No," she shook her head, "When I left the bathroom he pushed me back in and pushed me twice. He tried to pull of my pants, but I got out of there before it happened."

"Who was that guy?" Jimmy sounded angry, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was freaked out!" Elizabeth told him honestly, "And I didn't want to cause any drama. I just wanted to get out of there. Jimmy, I was really scared. I couldn't even scream when that happened. I couldn't react! I didn't know what to do!"

Elizabeth began crying again thinking of the flashbacks. She really just wanted her scared feelings to go away. Jim pulled her into another embrace and she cried on his shoulder. He tried soothing her and rubbing her back.

"I'm just thankful you're okay and that guy didn't get any further," he kissed her temple, "I still want to know who he is."

"OC took care of him," she wiped away her tears with her sleeve and chuckled, "And Mallory got his girlfriend to break up with him."

"You were with Mallory?" Jim was stunned.

Elizabeth nodded, "Yeah…she's kind of cool actually. She was really mad. I told her after our fight and she went to the frat house. She told the guy's girlfriend and he found out and tried to hurt Mal! Then OC, Mark and Mac came out to help us out."

"At least they were there," Jim replied, noting to himself to thank them all later.

"Yeah," she gave a small smile, "Now I'm very tired. I'm sorry I won't be wide awake tonight."

"That's okay," he put his arm around her shoulder and they walked towards his bed, "As long as you are here that's all that matters."

Meanwhile Mallory arrived back to her room. She turned on the light so she could see. This woke a sleeping Silk.

"Mal…" he perked his head up, with a groggy voice, "Where have you been?"

Mallory took David's keys out of her pocket and put them on her desk. She put the rest of her stuff down and then sat down on the bed next to David. She had an anxious look on her face. David noticed and sat up with her.

"Mal," David asked, "Are you alright?"

Mallory then proceeded to tell him the story, about how Elizabeth was sexually assaulted and they went back to the party. How Eric pushed her but Elizabeth and the guys came to her aide and about going out to eat to help Elizabeth feel better.

"Jesus" was Silk's first reaction at the end of the story, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "I'm more shocked than actually physically hurt. But I'm fine, seriously!"

"What about Elizabeth?" Silk questioned.

"I think so," Mallory replied.

"Man," David sighed and shook his head, "I can't believe that type of shit happens. Like guys trying to take advantage of girls. Has that ever happened to you?"

Mallory paused for a moment, then shook her head, "No…no…"

"Good," David sighed in relief, he then kissed her temple, "Ready for bed?"

"Yeah," Mallory nodded.

Mallory got up and quickly changed into her sweats. They both knew that nothing was going to happen between them tonight. Silk needed to sleep to avoid a really bad hangover and Mallory was in no mood. Mallory turned off the light and crawled into bed next to David. He wrapped his arm protectively around her waist and fell asleep pretty quickly. Mallory, however, laid awake for several hours trying to figure out why she lied to David.


	28. The Time Warp

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Elizabeth and Mallory have another scene in this chapter that I think you'll like. And I'm really happy you liked The Outsiders reference because I've had the chapter in my head for a while and that part always reminded me of that part in the book and movie!**

**Lulu: You'll find out why she lied to Silk in later chapters ;)**

**Peachy65: Mallory does a lot of things that she shouldn't do and that incident won't be the last of it. I'm glad you liked Bad Blood also!**

**Penelopeparish: I'm happy you liked it! More Mallory and Elizabeth friendship in this chapter!**

**LTJM: She lied to Silky about being assaulted. She told him she never has but Mark knows the truth about that. There will be more drama with Silk and Mallory in this chapter!**

**Ashaloo155: I'm glad you like it! And I'm really happy that this is one of your favorites! I hope you like this chapter too!**

**AN: Sorry it took so long for the update! I was busy with the holidays. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, especially the later ones because they really inspired me to get the chapter done. Anyways, here it is! Please review because I love them!**

**Chapter 28**

Two weeks had passed since the party and no one really brought up what had happened afterwards. The guys were busy practicing and playing games, Elizabeth was getting ready for the National Championships coming up in a few weeks, and Mallory was study for her midterms along with the rest of the girls on the floor. It had been a pretty quiet two weeks.

However, Halloween was approaching and fast. By Halloween all the girls would be done with their midterms and the floor wouldn't be like a ghost town anymore. A few days before Halloween, Mallory decided to try on her Halloween costume.

Phil, Mark and Mac were hanging out in the latter two's room. The guys heard a small tap at the door and all looked at it. Verchota, who was standing already, walked over and answered the door. He opened the door to Mallory, in a French maid costume.

"Woah, Mal, I didn't know you wanted me so badly!" Phil teased.

The blonde rolled her eyes, "It's my Halloween costume. Is Mac or Mark here? I need them to help me with the zipper…"

Robbie raced up to thee door, "I'll help you, Mal."

Mallory nodded, "Thanks Mac."

"Why did you want me to help anyways?" Mac wondered aloud.

"Because Phil is a perve," Mallory joked.

"Whatever," Phil, who was still there, shrugged, "I'm outta here."

Phil walked back over and sat on Mac's bed. Mark shook his head and tried to hide a small laugh when he saw the expression of Phil's face. Meanwhile Mallory turned around and zipped up Mallory's costume.

"Thanks," she smiled when he was done.

"Is this the same costume you wore last year?" Mac chuckled, remembering how hot she looked that night.

"Well, not the exact same," she teased, "Because you ripped last years one."

"It was worth it," Mac gave a coy grin.

Mallory shook her head and playfully hit him in the arm. They forgot that a few of the guys were in Mac's room, witnessing everything.

"Can I rip it off this year?" Verchota yelled, bringing Mallory and Robbie back to reality. All the guys in the room cracked up.

Mallory shook her head, slightly embarrassed, "No. You guys should keep the door open so I can come back in with the wig and give you the full affect!"

Mallory quickly scurried outside Mac and Mark's room and came back moments later. This time she had a big, curly, auburn wig on.

"Mallory, you looked hot before as a regular French maid. The big red hair is going to make you look like an uggo!" Phil joked.

"I'm not a French maid," Mallory told him, "I'm Magneta from _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_."

"Oh that movie is so lame!" Phil sighed.

"I've never seen it," Mark finally contributed to the conversation.

Mallory gasped, "Oh my God! You're a virgin!"

Mark's face turned a bright shade of red and he shook his head, "I have sex, I've just never seen the movie."

"No, Magic," Phil explained, "It's just something that the losers who are obsessed with _Rocky Horror_ say to people that never seen it. That whole movie is so annoying! It has its own weirdo sub-culture now!"

"Because it's awesome!" Mallory defended one of her favorite films. She loved it because it was so different, nothing she had ever seen before, "Robbie, tell them how much you liked it!"

Mallory dragged Robbie to see it last year when they were fooling around. Robbie wanted to hook up the whole time but Mallory made sure they watched and her eyes were glued to the screen. It was the longest amount of time they spent together during their relationship when they didn't hook up.

"Mal, I only said it was good to get you to go to bed with me," Mac said bluntly. He didn't pay attention; in fact he almost fell asleep.

"Well it worked," the RA nodded, "You guys should all come to see it with the girls and me on Halloween. They're playing it at eight so when we're done we can go straight to parties."

"I don't know," Mac replied. He knew he would probably fall asleep again and there was no chance in hell that he would get laid because he said he liked it.

"Yeah," Mark nodded in agreement with his roommate.

"So are the girls going to be dressed up in their costumes too?" Phil asked, "I'll only go if their slutty. Halloween is supposed to be a slutty holiday, Mal, why are you not following the rules?"

"I don't know if they're going to be slutty," Mallory chuckled, "And Halloween is my favorite holiday; just because I'm not dressed slutty doesn't mean I'm not into it. Where did you get that slutty holiday idea anyways?"

"Because those are the rules!" Phil sighed in a matter-of-fact voice.

"What are the rules?" a new voice entered the conversation.

Silk suddenly appeared at the door and put his arm around Mallory's shoulder. He looked at her up and down, checking her out. No one replied back to him at first but Silk forgot what he asked when he checked out Mallory.

"You look great!" he snickered.

"Thanks," Mallory grinned, "It's my Halloween costume. What are you being?"

Silk shook his head, "No, I don't do Halloween."

"What? Why not?" Mallory was almost as shocked now as when she heard Phil hating on _Rocky Horror_.

"Because I'm not seven," David teased, "So is this your costume or are you just happy to see me?"

The guys cracked up and Mallory tried to hide her giggles by shaking her head.

"Whatever," the blonde replied, pretending to be hurt, "I'm going to go change out of this. Can you unzip me?"

"Yeah," David nodded, "Let's go to your room."

"Alright," Mallory nodded, and then turned to the three other guys, "Later."

"Bye," David bid his teammates farewell.

They both left together and went to Mallory's room right across the way. Mark, Mac, and Verchota continued going about their conversation.

"I don't want to see _Rocky Horror_ again," Phil shrugged, "It was horrible the first time around."

"I don't know," Mac sighed, "Maybe if all the girls are going it won't be that bad."

"Hopefully," Mark nodded.

When Mallory and David went into the RA's room, Phil, Mark and Mac weren't the only ones that saw them go off. Jimmy and Elizabeth were in the hallway returning from lunch when the pair walked across from one door to the other.

The ice skater took a deep breath when she saw Mallory. She hadn't spoken to her since what she and Jim now called 'the incident'. Mallory didn't talk about it either, not to Jimmy's knowledge anyways. Elizabeth remained quiet until Jim opened his door and the couple went inside.

"Should I talk to her?" Elizabeth cut straight to the point, "Like it's been almost two weeks."

"Yeah, if you want," Jim tried to be cool about it. He knew Mallory wanted to let the incident go because she didn't talk about it. It was up to Elizabeth if she wanted to bring that up again.

"Yeah," Elizabeth nodded and began pacing while Jim sat on his bed, "I should talk to her. Thank her for sticking up for me; apologizing for sticking up for me…I don't even know if she likes me. Before that she hated me!"

"Well if she helped you out than I think she doesn't hate you," Jim told her.

"You've never been inside the mind of a girl," Elizabeth said, "We're crazy!"

"I can tell," Jim chuckled as he watched her pace.

"Shut it!" Elizabeth shook her head and finally sat on the bed next to her boyfriend, "I don't even know what to say to her. Like it was a big deal what happened, ya know?"

"To be honest," Jim began, "I think you should talk to her. Mal is pretty cool once you get to know her. She'll be cool talking with you."

"You think so?" Elizabeth was a little reluctant.

"Yeah," Jim nodded, "But don't go over there now…"

Elizabeth cracked up, "I wouldn't dream of it!"

Elizabeth and Jimmy hung out in his room for a while, until they felt it was safe for Elizabeth to talk to Mallory without interrupting anything. The brunette went out on her own, declining Jim's offer to join her. She felt she needed to do this on her own.

The eighteen year old knocked on the door of the RA. A few seconds later, the blonde opened the door. She was wearing sweats and big eye glasses and she was alone. Elizabeth sighed in relief that she wasn't walking in on anything. When she saw Mallory's face, she saw the RA give a shy smile.

"Hey," Mallory nodded towards her room, "Come in."

Elizabeth walked into the RA's room. It was a lot different than her boyfriends. She had a lot more room and her very own bathroom. She had a mini-fridge too. Those were the perks of being RA. But she also had tons of posters and a lot of albums in her room. Jim said she was a music fan, but Elizabeth never knew how major.

"Nice room," Elizabeth said quietly.

"Thanks," Mallory smiled, before sitting down at her desk chair.

"Listen," Elizabeth began, "I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me when that whole thing happened at the party a few weeks ago."

"You welcome," Mallory told her, "Sorry I haven't been able to talk to you about that sooner. It's been a crazy few weeks with midterms."

"Oh no!" Elizabeth gave a small giggled, "You don't need to ask me how I'm doing. I'm not one of your kids here."

"You practically are," the RA chuckled, "And that doesn't mean shit. That's just what people do for each other. Besides, you're practically living with Jim."

"I stay the night sometimes," Elizabeth nodded, "So, uh, thanks again. Are we cool?"

Mallory looked down at her feet and chuckled to herself. She wasn't laughing at Elizabeth; she just never thought that she'd be cool with the ice skater. But that night really made Mallory think.

"Yeah," Mallory nodded, "And you didn't let me thank you. You stood between me and Eric. If you didn't go in front of me it could've turned out worse. You had my back and I owe you."

"That's just what people do for each other," Elizabeth repeated Mallory's earlier sentiments.

Mallory chuckled to herself again. Even though Elizabeth wasn't her kid, she liked that what she says has some meaning for her. It was the ultimate compliment for the RA.

"So what are you being for Halloween?" Mallory switched topics.

"I was thinking of going as Holly Golightly…"

…**.**

The night of Halloween got everyone really excited. The guys relented into seeing _Rocky Horror Picture Show_ with the girls and they planned on hitting up a club afterwards. Besides Mallory going as Magneta and Elizabeth going as Holly Golightly, a lot of the guys really dressed up as well.

Phil and Jimmy decided to go as Starsky and Hutch. Rizzo slicked his hair back and went as Michael from _The Godfather_. Buzz and Gayle dressed as Danny and Sandy from _Grease_. Mac went as Jesus because he believed that "girls would go on their knees for him". Mark went as the Six Million Dollar Man.

They saw the movie in their costumes and Phil almost fell asleep again. Mark, who had never seen the movie, was fascinated by it. It was really bizarre. He couldn't really explain it. He would never want to see it again but it was one of the strangest things he had ever seen. The hockey player was absorbed into the movie.

"That was one crazy movie," Mark joked to Mallory as they left the theater.

"That's why I like it," the RA chuckled.

After the movie, the floor decided to stick together and went to a club in the city. A lot of people were there, dressed in crazy costumes. Elizabeth saw someone wearing a slutty Jackie Kennedy outfit and pointed it out to Phil.

"I would've worn that," the brunette joked, "But I decided on this instead."

"Aren't we the tease?" Phil snickered.

"I like you better in what you're wearing," Jimmy pulled her close.

"Thanks," she lightly kissed her lips, "I wish I could say the same about you."

She walked away from him to go hang out with the other girls and Jim chuckled and shook his head.

"Starsky is cool!" Jim yelled towards her.

Elizabeth nodded and gave him a fake smile. She giggled slightly then turned back to her conversation with her friends.

"I think I'll go after slutty Jackie," Phil told Jimmy.

"Go for it, man," Jim encouraged.

Meanwhile Mallory and Gayle were talking. It was the first time they really talked since the night the guys found out about Mallory's mom.

"I love you're costume," Mallory grinned at Gayle's Sandy.

"Thanks," Gayle nodded, "But it was tough convincing Buzzy to be Danny."

"I bet," Mallory chuckled.

"So, how are things? I heard you're seeing one of the guys," Gayle asked.

"Yeah," Mallory replied, "I'm seeing David. But we're not in a relationship. I'm in the same place with him like I was with Mac and OC."

"Wow, you hooked up with those two as well?"

"Yeah," Mallory nodded.

"You're getting around. Good for you," Gayle giggled.

"Thanks…"Mallory said hesitantly.

She never really thought that she was getting around because her relationships with the three of them were so far apart. But there was Rizzo as well, she always forgot about Rizzo…

Suddenly David and Buzz came over to talk to Gayle and Mallory. Buzz put his arm around his wife and she checked out David's costume.

"What are you dressed as?" Gayle asked.

"A hockey player in street clothes," David explained.

"He's not into Halloween," Mallory rolled her eyes.

"Come on, dude, it's not that bad," Buzz told him.

"It's just not for me," Silk shook his head.

"Buzz, let's dance," Gayle gave him an excited look.

The married couple said goodbye to David and Mallory and took it to the dance floor. Mallory loved dancing and wanted to dance with David.

"Wanna go out too?" the blonde asked.

"Maybe in a bit," Silk answered, "Wanna beer or something?"

"Sure," Mallory nodded.

"I'll be right back."

Silk left to get drinks at the bar and Mallory walked over to the tables where a few of the other guys were hanging out. Phil walked back at the same time, looking pissed. They sat next to each other, and Mallory left a spare seat for David.

"What's wrong with you?" Bah asked.

"Nothing…" Mallory gave a weird look, hoping she didn't look upset, "Why?"

"I'm talking to Hutch over here," Bah joked.

"Well," Verchota began, "I saw a really hot slutty Jackie Kennedy, but she already had a John."

"Sorry to hear about that, man," Mac sympathized. He was stag this night too.

David came back with beers for himself and Mallory. They were talking to Verchota and Mac for a while and shared a lot of laughs. Bah eventually left the group to dance with a girl, leaving it to just be Mac, Phil, Mallory, and David. Then the group heard someone calling out for them, which interrupted their conversation.

"Hey guys," they heard a voice call out, "What's going on?"

The four looked up and a guy walked over to the table. David didn't recognize him but Mallory, Mac, and Phil did. Phil and Mac got up to greet the guy and Mallory stayed sitting quietly in her seat. She didn't really know him that well; they met a few times last fall.

"Hey Silk," Verchota introduced, "This is out friend Derek. He's on the football team."

"Hey," Derek nodded at David, and then he noticed Mallory, "What's going on, Mal?"

"Pretty good, Derek. How about you?" she smiled back.

"Great now that I know you're here," Derek joked as he pulled up a chair, "So are you two still seeing each other?"

Derek was pointing to Mallory and Robbie. Both shook their heads and explained that they were long done. Derek gave a skeptical look. The crowd dancing then began to cheer. The table stopped to listen to what was going on. A new song was playing. It was something that Mallory recognized right away.

"David," Mallory pulled on his arm, "It's the 'Time Warp'! Let's dance!"

"Mallory," David sighed, "I'm not much of a dancer."

"But they teach you how to do the dance in the song!" Mallory tried.

"No," David shook his head.

"I'll dance with you, Mal," Mac joined the conversation with his offer. He knew Mallory loved this song and he could tell she really wanted to dance to it. They had a lot of fun dancing to it last year.

"Robbie, I'd love to," Mallory clapped her hands.

The blonde then grabbed Robbie's hand and they walked quickly to the dance floor.

"Can we dance to it like last year?" Robbie whispered into her ear. It was the same version, but some parts they adjusted making it so they were a little closer and more intimate.

"That's the only way I know how!" Mallory joked.

Mallory and Robbie began dancing along with the other couples. David took a sip of his beer as he watched. This was not the same Time Warp they showed in the movie. They were dancing very close to each other, grinding up against each other. Mac looked like he was in seventh heaven.

"Hey, just like old times," Phil joked, pointing out to the ex-fling.

"I'll say," Derek chuckled.

The football player then turned to Silk.

"If I were you," Derek warned in Silk's ear, "I'd watch out for Mac."

"Why?" Silk asked while still watching Mac and Mallory out on the dance floor.

"Because she dumped her boyfriend of over a year for him. To her, it's always going to be Mac," the football player said.

Derek then left Silk's side and said goodbye to his hockey friends. He went back to his date and football friends, leaving Silk wanting to know more. After the song was over Mac and Mallory came back to the table with big smiles on their faces and laughing. They had a lot of fun.

"Thanks, Robbie," she looked up to the hockey player and grinned.

"Any time," Robbie replied, then winked, "Besides, our version is a lot more fun than the real one."

"Very true," she nodded in agreement.

When Mallory arrived back to her seat David put his arm protectively around her shoulder, claiming his territory. He didn't look Mac in the eye. He was quiet for a few minutes while the rest of the table was talking, then he spoke up.

"Hey, wanna get going soon?" he asked into Mallory's ear.

"We just got here," Mallory mistakenly tried, not knowing that a few hours had passed, "And I don't want to leave first. Besides, we didn't drive so how would we get home?"

"We could walk or cab it back," Silk told her.

"I'm not walking in these heels," Mallory laughed and shook her head, "Let's just wait it out. I'm having fun."

"Whatever," David sighed.

While David and Mallory had their own side conversation, so did Phil and Robbie. They had already danced with a lot of girls and by now all the really hot ones were taken. Phil looked at his watch and it was past three. The two hockey players got up.

"Hey," Mac got David and Mallory's attentions, "We're leaving now if you want a ride?"

"Sure," Mallory nodded, "Thanks."

Mallory then turned to David and whispered, "Happy now?"

"Not at all," he shrugged before getting up.

Mac drove them all back to the dorms and David spent the night with Mallory again. Despite this, the tension they had still remained. The sex was cold and they both knew it. They then slept looking in opposite directions. In the middle of the night Dave woke up and found a pillow between himself and Mallory. The blonde's head was on it making it look like a thing she did in her sleep. But it separated their bodies. It was their own version of the Berlin Wall.


	29. The Wanderer

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Yeah I saw Rocky Horror for the first time this Halloween and it was the weirdest thing ever, but I enjoyed it! I couldn't have Halloween and not put it in haha.**

**Peachy65: I'm glad you liked the Halloween costumes! I love The Godfather so I thought it would be hilarious for Rizzo to be Michael. And I like your theory!**

**Lulu: Thanks!**

**LTJM: Thank you!**

**Penelopeparish: I'm happy you like the Rocky Picture references. I wanted that to be the fun amidst the drama building around it!**

**AN: Thanks for the reviews! So here is the latest chapter. It's a little confusing at first because it's someone's point of view, but I'm not revealing who "The Wanderer" is until the end. I'm not doing it because I'm evil, just because it's more fun this way. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 29**

**The Wanderer's POV**

I sit at the bar alone, slowly drinking my glass of beer. The rest of guys went back to the dorms to rest up before practice tomorrow. I'm not tired. I wake up early and have tough practices, but I'm always wide awake late at night. I'm exhausted when I wake up but at one in the morning, I'm awake. My body is so weird sometimes.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment. Maybe closing my eyes would make me tired so I can have a decent amount of sleep tonight. It didn't work, just what I thought. I open my eyes. Everything looks the same except for one thing. A blonde woman is sitting at the other end of the bar. She must've just arrived and she was alone. This woman didn't go alone to a bar at one in the morning just to get a drink. I look over again; she's pretty decent and has a nice rack. I, being a boob-man and all, am happy about that.

She looked up at me and saw me starring. I'm not the shy one. I won't turn my head and hide, pretending that I wasn't looking. I totally was. When she saw me checking her out, I smirk at her. Then I turn my head, leave her wanting more. A few seconds later I look up again and see her still looking my way. This time she smirks at me and then looks away. Now I see she wants to play games. Normally, I wouldn't go for it but it was one in the morning and she has a nice rack.

I chuckle and shake my head; I can't believe she wants to play games with me like that. I try to think of her life story in my head. She's this cute blonde with nice tits at the bar at one in the morning. She's not dressed too bad, which makes me know she's not a prostitute or anything. I'd never pay to have sex with a woman. Maybe I'm cheap, but so are they.

I look away from her for a second and take another sip of my beer. When I look back to where she's sitting, I see that she's gone. Suddenly a song comes on from the jukebox.

_Oh well, I'm the type of guy who will never settle down_

_Where pretty girls are well, you know that I'm around_

_I kiss 'em and I love 'em 'cause to me they're all the same_

_I hug 'em and I squeeze 'em they don't even know my name_

"The Wanderer" by Dion & The Belmonts. I dated this girl once and she told me that this song described my life. I think it does because it didn't work out with her.

I feel a tap on my back and turn to face the person trying to get my attention. It was the blonde. She must've turned the song on the jukebox. Yeah, she was definitely not in for just a drink.

"I'm Sally Simpson," she gave a fake name. I could tell because it was a name of a Who song.

"Bob Dylan," I give her a fake name back.

She gives me a small smile. She doesn't care that I used a fake name. She only really came over for one thing.

"What are you drinking, Bobby?" she sits down on the empty stool next to me.

"Just a beer," I answer, "What are you drinking? I've never seen one of those before."

"It's peach schnapps," she replies.

"Oh never mind," I joke, "I think I've seen my mom drink those."

I tease her because I know that when I do it gives her this internal need to impress me. She's going to have to work for this.

"Shut up," she giggles and lightly hits my arm.

"So what brings you here so late all by yourself?" I ask.

"I just wanted a drink…" she took a sip of her schnapps.

"And why did you come alone?" I get down to it.

"Because if I met a hot guy I could have him all for myself," the blonde then put her hand on my upper thigh, "I guess it was good I came alone then."

"I strongly agree," I nod.

The blonde than got up, "Can you walk me to my car? It's late and it's scary out there."

We weren't going to just walk to her car and I knew that. I sit for a moment than I slowly get up. I give her the allusion that I had to think about it, that I had better options. That means she'll feel grateful and the sex will be better.

"Why not?" I wrap my arm around her waist as we begin walking out of the bar.

While we're walking through the lobby, the blonde lets go of me and goes towards the men's bathroom. She looks inside.

"The coast is clear," she whispers.

So she doesn't want to wait until we get to the car. I dig that. She's a blonde that takes charge, just my type. I take her hand and we walk into the men's bathroom. I take her to the handicapped stall so we have more room. As soon as I lock the hatch she comes at me. She kisses me ferociously and hard. I really like that.

My hands are moving up and down her body. She really does have great tits. My hands go around her body and to the zipper of her jeans. I unbutton the top and unzip them. I begin kissing her face again as I remove her panties. They're silk. As I am doing that I feel her undoing my pants and pulling down my boxers.

She begins kissing my neck as I pull out my wallet from my pocket. I always keep a condom inside just in case. I slip it on. She stops kissing me and sees that we're ready to go. She smiles at me.

Next thing I know I'm inside of her. She begins kissing me hard again. I kiss her back. A few minutes pass and we both climax. When we're done she gives me a smile. My work here is done.

"Good job, partner," she winks as she pulls her jeans up.

I pull up my pants as the blonde unlatches the door. I see a janitor standing outside the stall, mopping up the floors. He gives an uncaring look. He cleans a bar; he's seen a lot of shit. This wasn't the worst he's seen. The blonde laughs and then walks away.

"Thanks for the ride," she says before leaving the bathroom for good.

I don't leave the bathroom first. Instead, I wash my hands. When I'm done I leave the bathroom and get outside the bar. It's a cold early November evening. Luckily the bar isn't too far away so I can walk back without getting too cold. I was driven here tonight and since none of the other guys stuck around, I'm walking alone. I put my hands in my coat pockets and begin the walk back to the dorms.

I start thinking about Stevie Nicks. That's who that girl looked like! She shouldn't have used Sally Simpson. She wasn't as hot as Stevie Nicks, but not many people are. She's totally hot! I would do her in a heartbeat.

Before I know it, I'm back home. I walk into the building and no one is really around the lobby. It's a week night and it's pretty late. I see some people hanging out or coming in, but no one I know.

I take the stairs up to our floor and I walk down the hall. It's empty. The guys are sleeping because of early practice. I continue walking towards my room when I see a door open up. It's Mallory's. She walks out with her water bottle, probably to go to the fountain.

I nod when I see her and she walks up to me.

"Hey David," she gives me a light kiss on the lips, "Did you just get back?"

"Yeah," I tell her, then I lie, "I was going to leave a while ago but some guys' car broke down so I stayed to help out."

"Well aren't we helpful," she giggles.

That was easier than I thought. And I made that up on the spot. I'm pretty good at the art of bullshit.

"I try," I brush it off.

"So do you want to stay in my room tonight?" she asks as she comes real close to me.

Her head is near my chest and she takes a deep breath. Mal than looks up to me and gives me a weird look. Do I smell like I just had sex? Is that woman's perfume on me? I pause for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing," she shakes her head, "You just didn't answer my question."

Whew, that was a close call. Now the coast is clear!

"Why not?" I tell her.

Mallory takes my hand and leads me down to her room. She forgot about filling up her water bottle. Man, I love blondes. They really take charge.


	30. Paranoid

**Justlivenletlive: I'm really happy you like the surprise but I'm sorry you hate Silk! You're probably going to hate him this chapter too!**

**Peachy65: Yeah I came up with the chapter after hearing the song on Pandora and I originally thought for it to be Rizzo, but I realized that David would be a lot more interesting and could lead to more things. I'm happy you liked it!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: I'm sorry you're mad at Silk, but you won't like him this chapter either. I'm happy you like "The Wanderer", it's a cool song you should check it out.**

**Lulu: Thanks!**

**Ashaloo155: Silk and Mallory will have some more obstacles this chapter too. But I'm happy you liked the ending!**

**AN: Sorry it took so long! I've been really busy! Anyways it's up now, a lot longer than the last chapter. I think you'll get why I titled the chapter this pretty quickly. I really hope you like it and please review!**

**Chapter 30**

"_Don't! Stop!" she whined, "I'm with someone…"_

_The guy stood tall over her. He moved his hands down to her jeans' button and whispered in her ear, "I saw the look you gave me…"_

"_Stop!"_

Elizabeth suddenly woke up with a jolt. She sat up in her bed and began breathing heavily. She was freaked out that she had another nightmare about what happened. The teen didn't tell anyone about them. Elaine, her coach, didn't even know what happened. She didn't feel comfortable talking about it with Jimmy either. Jim was her boyfriend but Elizabeth saw the pain and concern in his eyes when she told him the first time. He felt guilty for not being there.

She remembered Mallory talking to her about it after it happened. The RA told her to move in and forget about it. She didn't want to be so paranoid. But Elizabeth found that a lot easier said than done. Mallory said she was going to be okay, but how would she know? It's never happened to her.

Elizabeth looked over to the clock in her bedroom. It read five-thirty in the morning. She took a deep breath. After her dream she didn't think she could go back to sleep, but even if she wanted to she couldn't. Soon Elaine, her boyfriend, and her two-year old son would be up. The pitter-patter of Elaine's son's feet always woke Elizabeth up. It reminded her of home. She was the second oldest of eight, so there was always young kids running around the house when she was growing up.

Instead of rolling over and trying to go back to sleep, Elizabeth got up. She put on her slippers and her matching bathrobe and quietly crept downstairs to the kitchen. It was silent, which was a rare thing in Elaine's house.

The ice-skater turned on the lights and started the coffee maker. She wasn't hungry; she was too stressed to eat. Elizabeth took a deep breath and went to the sugar bowl. She opened it and found Elaine's secret cigarette stash. Elaine's boyfriend didn't like smoking so she hid the cigarettes from him. Elizabeth smoked every now and then, because skaters she met at competitions said it helped keep her weight down. And they did, which was essential if she wanted to be a champion ice skater. But she also smoked when she was worried or stressed. Ever since the frat party, she's been smoking more. Jimmy never knew that.

Elizabeth didn't know where Elaine hid her lighter. She looked around for a moment trying to think of where she'd hid it. The teen gave up and instead turned on the stove. She lit the cigarette with the stove instead. She began taking a puff and sat down at the kitchen table, enjoying her peace and quiet.

"I see you found my stash," Elizabeth heard a voice from behind.

Elizabeth turned around and saw her coach walk into the kitchen. She had a smug look on her face. She sat at the table, across from Elizabeth, and took out a cigarette from the packet. The older blonde then took out her lighter. It was in the pocket of her robe. Elizabeth noted that for next time.

"Don't let Jimmy catch you smoke. He'll think you're ugly," Elaine said as she lit up.

Suddenly the coffee was ready. Elaine got up to get it. She handed one mug to her skater and saved the other for herself. While getting the mugs, Elaine also put her ashtray on the table. She kept that hidden from her boyfriend too; it was behind the sugar bowl. The two sat in silence smoking for a moment when they heard foot steps coming. It was Elaine's boyfriend.

Elaine quickly took the cigarette out of her mouth and crushed it into the ashtray. She took some sips of coffee to hide it from her breath. Her boyfriend walked in to see her drinking coffee and Elizabeth smoking a cigarette.

"Jesus Elizabeth!" he complained, eying the ashtray, "Is that your second cigarette of the day? It's only five forty-five. You should take Elaine's example. She doesn't smoke."

Elizabeth rolled her and looked at Elaine. The coach didn't say anything. Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. She was thrown under the bus.

"Yeah," Elizabeth nodded, "I do smoke."

The ice skater stood up to walk away and saw the package of cigarettes on the table along with Elaine's lighter.

"I'll be taking my stuff back now," the brunette took the items off the table and walked out of the kitchen.

"Jeez, that girl needs an attitude adjustment," Elaine's boyfriend to her.

"Yeah…." Elaine nodded slowly, "She does."

….

After practice ended the guys only had a few hours to get ready before they hit the road for their road trip. They were headed to northern Minnesota and North Dakota. It was a Tuesday and they were expected to get back late Friday night or early Saturday morning.

When David got back from practice, he packed. It didn't take him very much because he was a light packer and because he was a guy and didn't plan out his outfits. After packing he took a quick nap. He woke up about an hour later and looked at the clock. It was past three, which meant Mallory would be done with classes for the day.

David got out of his bed and put his shoes on. He picked his keys up off his bureau and went out to go to Mallory's room. He walked down the hall and heard a familiar laughter. It was Mallory's, who had a very goofy and distinct laugh. He then realized it wasn't coming from her own room. He walked further and saw Mac and Mark's door was open. She was with them. Music was playing in the background. It was "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath.

David stood at the doorway and watched Mallory and his two teammates playing cat's cradle and laughing. Mallory had the string in her hands and was joking around. The blonde then saw David standing at the door.

"Hey!" she giggled and motioned her head, "Join us!"

"I've never played cat's cradle before," he told her as he walked into the room.

"It's easy," Mac said, "I'll show you."

Mac put his fingers on the string and maneuvered through Mallory's. They were touching a little bit and Mallory laughed. Mac got the stings out of her hand and it was a new shape.

"You're so serious about it, Robbie!" she cracked up.

"Wanna try?" Mac held out his hands with the string inside.

"No thanks," he shook his head, "Mal, do you have any weed?"

Mallory shook her head as Mark took the string from Mac's fingers.

"No," she replied, "But I'll get some when you guys are out of town."

"Who do you buy from?" Mark joined the conversation.

Mallory gave a mischievous look, "Different people…I have my ways…"

"Whatever," David shrugged, "Wanna do something else than?"

The blonde looked over at David, who had a very serious face. She didn't really want to go with him because she was having fun, but she liked David. She also didn't want to have a fight in front of her friends with a guy who could be her potential boyfriend.

"Okay," Mallory nodded, then turned to Mark and Mac, "Later guys. I'll pick up my album from you're room later!"

Mallory and David left the hockey players' room. Both Mark and Robbie were confused by David's behavior.

"Why is he being weird?" Mark asked.

"He probably thinks that I want Mallory back," Robbie sighed, "If I did than I could have her. There really wouldn't be a competition."

"Oh," Mark nodded quietly, "He's paranoid. Just like the song."

Meanwhile, Jim was in his room with Elizabeth. They were saying their proper goodbyes before Jim left town for a few days with the team. The couple was lying on Jim's bed hooking up.

The goalie gently moved his hand down her sides to the button of her pants. Elizabeth noticed this and held his hands to stop. She used her hands to lead his away. This worked for a few moments until Jim tried for the button again. Elizabeth suddenly stopped kissing her boyfriend.

"Jim," she whispered, "I already told you I'm not ready for that yet…"

"Ok," he said tensely as he got off of her.

They were now sitting at the end of his bed, looking a little frazzled.

"I'm sorry," the ice skater said, not even looking at her boyfriend.

"I know," he shrugged, "I just…"

"What?" Elizabeth looked at Jim.

"I just don't get it. You're acting paranoid about you getting hurt again," Jim told her, "A month ago we were totally on the right path and the night of the frat party you basically told me you were ready. And now…"

"Jimmy," she began, "What happened at that party really upset me and I thought you'd be a little more sensitive about that."

"Liz," he put his hand on her shoulder, "I know it freaked you out but you need to move on. It was almost a month ago and it's not like anything serious happened to you."

"Excuse me?" she sounded angry as she moved her shoulder away from his hand.

"You got away! It's not like he actually succeeded. If he did than it would be different, but he didn't. You need to move on for both our sakes…" Jim tried.

"I don't believe you," she said sadly, "You have no idea about how I'm feeling. And the only reason you care is because I'm too upset to put out."

"Elizabeth," he tried, "That's not what I…"

"No," she cut him off.

Elizabeth got off his bed and quickly grabbed her coat and purse off the floor.

"I'll see you later," she said coolly as she walked out.

….

The guys left that night for some small town in the backwoods of North Dakota. It took a few hours to get there and once the team reached the motel they were staying at, they wanted to go to bed. Craig Patrick gave the guys their keys and room assignments and they went to their rooms.

"Two twenty-five, here it is Jimmy," Mac said to his assigned roommate.

"Finally," Jim sighed in relief, "I need to stretch out and sleep."

"You guys better watch out," the pair heard Verchota call them out.

Mac and Jimmy turned their heads and saw Verchota and OC standing outside the door of the room next to them. They were both chuckling.

"Whatever, man," Robbie laughed, "If you do anything we're going to get you back!"

"If anything happens, it will be when you least expect it," OC jokingly warned before he and Verchota went into their room.

Robbie and Jimmy got into their room and threw their stuff on their beds. While Robbie was in the bathroom brushing his teeth, Jim thought of Elizabeth. He hadn't talked to her since the fight they had earlier and he's been so distracted that now was the first time he thought about her.

She was really pissed and Jimmy knew that. He didn't really know what to do or say; luckily he had a couple days to figure it out. Robbie then came out of the bathroom. When Jim saw him a light bulb went off in his head. Robbie was there!

"Hey Mac, can I ask you something?" Jim began.

"What man?" Robbie nodded.

"What happened the night of the frat party, with Elizabeth?" he got straight to the point.

"Exactly what she told you," Mac answered, "Why?"

"She's still freaked out about it," Jim replied.

"Really?" Mac frowned, "That sucks. I mean she was really upset that night but it was like a month ago."

"That's what I told her!" Jim exclaimed.

"Ohhhh," Mac stood back, "You shouldn't have said that, man."

"Why?"

Mac chuckled and shook his head, "Just give her some time, she'll be fine."

"I've given her a month," Jim answered.

"I can ask Mallory to talk to her again," Mac replied, "She's an RA so she's trained to deal with girl problems and stuff."

"No, Mallory probably won't want to," Jim said.

"She will," Mac nodded, "Besides if she talks to her than you won't have to."

"Yeah…I guess," Jim shrugged.

He kind of wanted to talk to her to see what was up, but Elizabeth was the one not telling him her feelings.

"Everything will be fine," Mac insisted.

"Thanks, man," Jim nodded, "You're pretty good at giving advice."

"Yeah I know! No one believes that though," Mac chuckled.

"I wonder why," Jim laughed, "So, what's the deal with you and Mallory? You can get her to talk to Liz?"

"Yeah," Jim answered, "We're just friends. She's fun to hang out with. Did Silky ask you to ask me that?"

"No," Jim was confused, "Why?"

"The past few weeks he's been weird about me hanging out with Mallory," he told Jim, "It's annoying because I don't want her back or anything."

"Maybe you should just hang out with her less or something," Jim said, "That's weird because Silk never seemed like the territorial type."

"Yeah," Mac shrugged, "Whatever, I'll figure it out. Thanks man."

"You too"

Jim went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. By the time he got out Mac was already passed out in his bed. Jim got into his bed and fell asleep not too long afterwards.

….

It was four AM on Saturday morning when the guys returned home from their trip. The bus dropped everyone off at their arena where a few of the guys parked their cars. The guys all got in the cars and drove back to their dorms. Jim drove back OC and Silky in his car.

Pulling into the parking lot, the three hockey players saw a lot of people standing outside and smoking. It wasn't an unusual site because most parties were winding down and not everyone was tired yet. Jim parked his car and he, OC, and Silky got out. They walked back with their stuff to the entrance, walking towards the group of people smoking. It was a petite brunette and a bunch of guys. Getting closer and closer, Jim realized that he knew one of the smokers.

"Elizabeth?" he wondered aloud.

The brunette turned her head right towards Jimmy. It confirmed it, it was Elizabeth. She was wearing a guy's jacket and had a big grin on her face.

"Hey Jimmy! Hey guys! So glad you guys are back," she smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Jim asked as he approached his girlfriend. Why the hell was she smoking?

"Mallory invited me to go to an apartment party with her and a few of the other RAs," Elizabeth nodded behind her to the guys.

Jim shook his head. He couldn't believe it. A few days ago she was freaked out when they were hooking up because of what happened at a party, and now she was going to parties with a bunch of random guys? That didn't make sense to Jim at all.

"Where's Mallory?" David asked.

Elizabeth looked back at the guys she was smoking with and they all exchanged looks.

"She should be back soon; she said I could crash on her floor. But now that you guys are back…" she got closer to her boyfriend.

"Who's jacket are you wearing?" Jimmy quietly and tensely asked Elizabeth.

"Mallory left the party to get weed," one of the guys said, "And it's my jacket. I'm Dan, the RA from the second floor."

"Oh she is," David sighed, remembering that she promised him that she would get some, "I knew she'd pull through."

"Yeah she left with some Canadian to buy it," Dan chuckled, "She always goes for the right ones."

"What do you mean?" OC joined the conversation.

Suddenly Mac and Mark arrived. They were in Mac's car, driving behind Jimmy's car. They got stopped at a few lights so arrived a few minutes after the three Boston guys.

"Hey what's up?" Mac asked.

"Mallory's getting weed from some random Canadian," OC replied.

"Oh," Mark nodded.

The conversation then picked up right where it left off before Mac and Mark's arrival.

"Little known fact about Mallory…she's a bitch," Dan answered, "She doesn't buy weed, she steals it!"

"She's crazy!" one of the other guy RAs said, "One of these days she's going to get what's coming for her."

"Didn't she sneak out of a bathroom window one time?" Elizabeth asked. She'd been hearing stories about Mallory's crazy weed heists all night.

"Multiple times," Dan told her, "She tells them she'll be right back and then she takes it and runs! She's ridiculous!"

"I love her," Elizabeth laughed.

"Elizabeth," Jimmy finally talked again, this time just to Elizabeth in a side conversation, "Take off his jacket."

"Why?" she asked, taking a puff of her cigarette.

"You're unbelievable," Jim shrugged.

"What are you…" before Elizabeth could finish her sentence, she was interrupted.

"Hey!" Dan called out.

"Hey," a girl laughed, "What's up?"

It was Mallory. The blonde RA had returned. Her hair was a mess and she had a small but distinct hickey on her neck. She spotted David in the crowd of guys and smiled at him.

"I got us some weed," she told him.

"Perfect," he smiled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and then kissed her temple while giving Mac and Mark a look, "Thanks."

"Wanna smoke tomorrow? It's getting kind of late," she told him.

"Sure," David answered, "Wanna go to bed now?"

"Yeah," Mallory smiled, "Night Liz. Night boys!"

Mallory and David walked away from the group. Without Mallory knowing it, David glared at Mark and Robbie as the pair walked away. Both gave each other confused looks. Why was he doing this? What did David have against the two of them? Why is he mad at them for being her friends while she gets some hickeys from random Canadian weed dealers?

"What the hell was that?" Mac asked Mark.

"I told you. He's paranoid," Mark shook his head, "Just ignore him, I guess."

They left as well as OC. A few of the RAs were still smoking outside, having their own conversation. Elizabeth and Jim were outside talking too.

"Jim," Elizabeth touched her boyfriend's arm, "Let's go to bed."

"Now you wanna go to bed?" Jim asked edgily.

"Yes," the ice skater replied, acting like he wasn't getting mad at her.

Jim didn't say anything. Elizabeth looked into his eyes. He looked mad and Elizabeth saw it. She took a deep breath and shook her head. She took off the jacket.

"Dan!" she called over to the RA. When he looked over she tossed him the jacket, "Thanks again!"

"No problem," he nodded, "Night guys."

Dan and the other RAs went inside and now the couple was the only two people remaining.

"Why are you acting weird?" Elizabeth asked.

"Me? Are you serious? Last time we hung out you couldn't stop freaking out about that party and now you're partying with all these older guys! What the hell, Liz?" the goalie asked.

"Mallory asked me! She told me I should go because it will help me move on. I had a lot of fun tonight, Jim," Elizabeth answered, "Why are you mad I'm moving on? You're the one acting paranoid now, Jim!"

"I'm not mad or paranoid!" Jim tried, "I want you to move on, but not with some random guys that I don't know. And why are you smoking?"

"This isn't the first time, Jim," she said with a straight face, "And I'm sorry I upset you by hanging out with random guys. I'm just so sick of talking about what happened or thinking about it…that's why I didn't talk about it with you! Mallory and I didn't talk either. I came over to get out of my house and she just invited me to the party."

"Whatever," Jim shrugged.

"Are you still mad?" Elizabeth looked sadly into her boyfriend's eyes.

Jim paused for a moment then slowly shook his head, "Let's just go to sleep."

**So, what did you think?**


	31. The Joker

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Silky was an ass at the wrong time, I agree. This chapter you'll find out why!**

**Lulu: Thanks!**

**Peachy65: Silky is paranoid but this chapter you'll find out why. I really hope you like it!**

**AN: Here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy. I wrote this a lot quicker than I had anticipated. I was beginning the chapter between classes and this came out in like an hour and a half. I thought about adding a part with Elizabeth and Jimmy, but after reading this I think it's better as a stand alone. I really hope you all like it and please review because I love reviews and was a little disappointed from last chapter's turnout.**

**Chapter 31**

The guys had been back from the road trip for a few days now. It was the middle of November and Thanksgiving was only a week and a half away. The guys were pretty excited for a few days off from practice. They could all use a little break. The guys loved playing games, but every once in a while they loved a night off.

Tonight was a night off for the team. While most of the guys went off to hang out or do their own thing, Mallory and David went out to dinner and a movie. It was a nice quiet evening. When they got back to the dorm, they stayed in Mallory's car, not wanting the date to end yet.

"This is nice," Mallory rest her head on David's shoulder as she snuggled her body closer.

"You like to snuggle?" Dave chuckled, "Because I know you didn't feel the same last night…"

Last night Mallory and David were sleeping in Mallory's bed. She was being a bit of a bed and cover hog. She ended up taking all the covers and he fell off the bed because he was forced over the edge.

"I already told you I'm sorry," she looked up at him sincerely.

"I know," he smiled, "Besides, I like it rough…"

Mallory giggled and said softly, "I know you do."

The pair then made out in her car. David moved his hands up her shirt and before they could get much farther, the blonde stopped him.

"Let's take this upstairs," she tried.

"Works for me," he smirked.

Mallory got off of David and sat up, fixing her hair. Just as the two were getting ready to open their doors, they heard a loud bang. Suddenly it started pouring out. It was raining very hard and it made loud noises against the car.

"Great," David shrugged. He was putting his jacket over his head, ready to run through the storm, Mallory held him back though.

"Let's wait it out in here," she told him, "its raining way too hard now."

"What if it doesn't stop?" the hockey player asked.

"If it doesn't stop within a half an hour than we'll go for it. But not now, it's too much," she insisted.

"Alright," David nodded, "Yeah, let's wait it out."

The radio was still playing in the background as Mallory went back into the snuggling position she was in with David before. Then The Steve Miller Band's "The Joker" came on the radio.

"Oh I love this song!" Mallory grinned, then began singing along, "Some people call me the space cowboy yeah; some call me the gangster of love…"

"Oh jeez," David shook his head, kiddingly, "Not this shit again!"

"Shut up!" the RA playfully hit him.

"Mal, I hate to break this to you…but you've got a bad voice," David told her.

"I've heard that before. My brother Randy says that all the time," she told him.

"Are you still planning on seeing him for Thanksgiving?" David asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, "It's kind of weird going to Canada for an American holiday, but oh well! I just can't wait to see him."

"That should be fun," David agreed.

"It will be," the blonde smiled, "But you guys will have fun too. Mark and Robbie told me all about you're plans for Buzz's house. I'm sure Gayle will love that…"

"Robbie?" David sounded annoyed, "I thought you called him Mac."

"I usually do," Mallory was confused, "Hmmm, I guess that just slipped out."

"Yeah sure," David sounded skeptical.

"What?" Mallory got out of her snuggle position with David and sat up right.

"It's just that you spend a lot of time with Mark and Mac," the hockey player began.

"So?" Mallory defended, "They're friends of mine."

"Yeah sure," David repeated the same skeptical statement from before.

"What's your problem?" Mallory was beginning to get upset, "You've been acting weird for a few weeks now, are they why?"

"I don't want to get into that now," David put his elbow on the door and leaned on his hand.

He shifted his body very far from Mallory. He didn't want to talk and Mallory knew it. She didn't care though. The RA pulled on his arm to get his attention.

"I think now is the perfect time to get into it," Mallory told him, "What gives?"

"I don't want a fight," David tried.

"Well, you've had something up you're ass for weeks now and I've tried to ignore it. Now tell me so we can get past this," Mallory said.

"Why do you want to get past this?" David asked, "Do you want something more for us?"

"Well…yeah," she said bluntly.

"No you don't, Mal," David shook his head.

"You don't want to be in a relationship?" Mallory's voice trembled.

"I thought I did…but now, I don't know," David took a deep breath, "And I don't think you do either."

"Don't tell me what I do or don't want!" she exclaimed.

"Mal," David tried, "Look at you're neck! It's a hickey from some random guy and I know that's not the first time since we've hooked up."

"So?" Mallory tried.

"I've hooked up too," he told her, "I hooked up at a bar one night…"

"David, I don't care about that," she insisted, "That doesn't matter because we're not official!"

"I know, I know. It's just…" Mallory cut him off.

"Do you like fucking randos or something?" she asked, "If we have problems than we need to fix them. Let's start officially."

"No! I wanted to be in a relationship with you, but now I just can't…" he said softly because he couldn't find the right words, "Mallory, you can't start a relationship on a bad foundation. Starting relationships don't fix problems, they make them worse! You're a great girl and a lot of fun but…"

"But what, David? Why can't you be in a relationship with me?" Mallory was getting really upset. She wasn't crying, but her face was getting red.

"Because of your bed," he told her, "That's one reason."

"That's so stupid, David! Because I accidentally pushed you off my bed when we were asleep?" Mallory was ticked, she didn't mean too.

"That was the first time that you know about. And it's just that. You make iron walls with your pillows and…"

"So what?" Mallory wanted to get to the point.

"You talk about getting close to people intimately and emotionally and stuff like a relationship, but you pushing me off that bed and making walls shows that you're not ready for it! You may think you are but you're not! Deep down you want to be alone." David tried telling her in a calm voice.

David really analyzed this and thought this through. He knew what he was saying and Mallory was taken off guard. She paused a moment to think of her next play.

"How do you think I'm not ready for this besides the fact my bed is too small and I move around a lot in my sleep?" Mallory tried insulting his reasoning.

"You want to know the real reason?" David was bothered by her looking down at his bed comment.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I want something with substance."

"Because you're not honest with me, Mallory," he blurted out, harshly, "You've been lying to me, for weeks!"

"What are you talking about?" Mallory was confused.

"I know about your conversation with Mark…" David told her coolly.

Mallory took a deep breath. Her heart skipped a beat. Did Mark tell him about her getting sexually assaulted once? He promised he wouldn't say anything.

"Wha…what?" Mallory stuttered.

"The night before the frat party," Dave started, "When that thing happened with Elizabeth. You were planning on leaving for the weekend to go to Mount Rushmore….and you asked Mark to come with you. He asked you about me and you said we were nothing. And then you asked him to run away with you…."

Mallory was stunned. Why would Mark say anything about that? She was really upset that night that she couldn't go, why would he talk about that?

"How did you…" David then cut Mallory off.

"I was there!" David said, "It was after a game and all the guys went to the bar. You thought I left but I stuck around last minute because I was tired. I heard everything! It's not like you tried to make it a secret anyways, it was right in the hallway."

"David, I'm so sorry! I was just tired and I don't know why I asked Mark. He was just there…" Mallory apologized.

"Mallory you don't ask someone to go away with you for the weekend just because they're there," David told her, "And why are we together? Is it because I'm just here?"

"No!" she exclaimed, getting more upset than before, "I care about you! I don't have feelings for Mark!"

David shrugged and shook his head in disbelief.

"David, I'm not lying to you! I don't have feelings for him!" Mallory tried.

"If you're not lying to me, than you're lying to yourself," David told her.

Mallory was speechless. She didn't know what to say. She was fighting so hard for David, and he was just rebuking her in every way. Nothing that she could do or say would fix this. He had made his mind up. He clearly didn't mind when she hooked up with others, but he couldn't stand the thought of them hooking up, while he thought she had feelings for another teammates. He had a lot of pride.

"Okay," she said softly, looking away from him.

"I wish things were different," David told her.

David looked out the window and realized the rain had stopped. They had been too caught up in their conversation to notice.

"I'll see you later, Mal," he patted her upper thigh before leaving the car.

The blonde sat silent and alone in her car. It was really over. She really couldn't believe it. She liked him a lot, but thinking back to what he said made a lot of sense. Mallory sat in her car for a few more minutes. She didn't want to go in yet.

The blonde took a few minutes to calm down. Her face was a little red from the argument too. She wanted to look normal for when she entered her building just in case she ran into anyone. She didn't want people to think something was wrong. After a couple minutes, she got out of her car.

Mallory's fears of seeing someone were for nothing. Her hallway was cleared. She walked quickly and quietly down to her room. She got in and closed her door. A closed door meant no one could bother her except if it was an emergency, her kids knew that.

The sound of silence haunted Mallory. She was used to having David with her at nights. They would talk a lot too. The blonde then went to her desk and turned on her radio, to substitute for the silence.

_I wanna hold your hand,  
I wanna hold your hand,  
I wanna hold your hand._

It was "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles. She remembered telling David that it was her favorite song. She immediately turned off the radio. That song was the complete opposite of her mood.

Mallory changed into her pajamas in silence and did her nightly routine. She turned off her light and lay stretched out in bed. She couldn't sleep; instead she lay on her back looking up at the ceiling. She felt her eyes water up. The blonde began to cry. To make matters worse she didn't know why: if it was because she was alone in her bed or because she liked it.

**Please review!**


	32. Gimme Danger

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Yeah Silk definitely has his reasons, he's not a bad guy. I'm happy you like the song! I love it.**

**Lulu: Thanks!**

**Peachy65: You're right Mallory has a lot to figure out and it's going to take a while until she gets her priorities straight. I'm glad you liked it.**

**AN: Sorry it's been so long! I've been so busy with my midterms. I'm done for now, thank God! Anyways, I really hope you like the chapter. I would love to hear your reviews and feedback because they really encourage me to write faster so you can read the next chapter without waiting so long! It's named after one of my favorite Iggy Pop songs. Enjoy and please review! **

**Chapter 32**

Elizabeth took a deep breath as she scanned the mall food court for a place to sit and eat. She had gone in search of some fabric for the outfit she would wear the National Championships. She was nervous it was approaching quickly, but eager to perform. The ice skater was proud of her routine.

The brunette looked around and it seemed like all the tables were filled. It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving and it seems like people started getting their Christmas shopping done early. There were no tables open. Elizabeth searched a little more and then suddenly saw a familiar face. Sitting all alone, drinking a coffee and reading a Rolling Stone, was none other than Mallory.

Elizabeth didn't know what to do at first. They talked about the incident together, but still, they hadn't talked too much. She didn't know if it would be awkward to sit with her. The ice skater then felt a small shove. People were walking around everywhere and she needed to find a place to sit soon. She looked around one more time and there was still nothing. The brunette then took a deep breath and walked over to Mallory's table.

"Is anybody sitting here?" Elizabeth asked a bit nervously as she arrived at the table.

Mallory, who was still reading her magazine, looked up and smiled "Hey. Yeah, sure."

"Thanks," Elizabeth put her tray on the table and sat down, "It's really crowded here."

"Yeah," Mallory agreed, "What's that in your bag? Fabric?"

"Yes," Elizabeth answered, "It's for my costume for Nationals."

"Are you giving that to the tailor?" the blonde asked.

"No," Elizabeth shook her head, "I make all my costumes myself. And now I have a lot of time since I'm not in school."

"Good for you. Every two years, I take up knitting for a week. It usually doesn't end up well. But, I like your fabric," Mallory chuckled, "It's very pink."

"It's my favorite color," Elizabeth said shyly.

"I would've never guessed," Mallory joked.

"What did you get?" Elizabeth changed subjects.

"Just some stuff for my brother and his girlfriend. I'm actually leaving after this to go see him. He lives in Canada now playing Junior Hockey and it's a long drive," Mallory explained.

"Oh so you're spending the week there for Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah," the RA answered, "I'm skipping out a little early, but I've really missed him."

"That's nice," Elizabeth nodded.

The conversation turned quiet for a moment. Elizabeth hated awkward silences, so she decided to go into a new topic.

"So how are things with you and Silk?" she asked.

"Nothing anymore," Mallory gave a small smile in reply.

"Oh I'm sorry!" Elizabeth was embarrassed, "I didn't…"

"Don't worry about it," Mallory shook her head, "I'm over it."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding, "How did it happen anyways? I thought you were with OC. You were when I first met you."

"Yeah," Mallory chuckled, "That ended only after a few weeks. We should have never gotten involved. We were both just using each other and in denial about it."

"Was that the same with you and Dave?" the ice skater questioned.

"Nah," Mallory replied, "We broke up because he figured me out, even before I had. People underestimate the kid, but boy, he sure can read people."

"What did he figure out?" Elizabeth took another sip of her soda.

"That I didn't want a relationship with him," the blonde answered.

"Do you like someone else or something?"

Mallory had an ambiguous look on her face that Elizabeth couldn't figure out, "So how are things with you and Jim? I hate talking about me for too long."

"They're, uh, good," Elizabeth answered, unsure of herself.

"Well that sounds like the foundation of a great relationship," Mallory joked, "What's up?"

"I'm nervous around him," Elizabeth looked down so Mallory wouldn't see her red face, "I've, uh, never been with a guy before…like all the way."

"So? I didn't have sex until I was twenty," Mallory sipped her coffee, "It's not that big of a deal."

"Yeah I know," Elizabeth looked up, "I just think he's getting frustrated. Like, I think I might love him. But if I'm going to do it with a guy, I want to know that he loves me too. Sex is a big step. It will change our relationship."

"I understand," Mallory nodded, "I was the exact same way."

"Yeah but I don't think Jim like gets it," Elizabeth took a deep breath.

"Jim's a good guy, he gets it," Mallory smiled.

"And I'm afraid it's going to suck," Elizabeth sighed.

"The first time always sucks," Mallory replied nonchalantly.

"But what if it ruins our relationship?" Elizabeth asked, "I'm afraid of taking that chance."

"You're going have to take the chance to find out. When you're ready, you'll know. Everything is going to be okay," Mallory said reassuringly," I gotta get going. I've got a long drive ahead of me. Have a nice Thanksgiving."

Mallory stood up and began getting her stuff together. Elizabeth watched her, taking in what Mallory said. She never talked about this with Elaine, it felt really nice to talk to someone. The blonde RA nodded at Elizabeth once more, before beginning to walk away.

"Hey Mallory," Elizabeth called out to Mallory and she turned around, "Thanks."

"Sure," Mallory chuckled, "Any time."

….

On Tuesday night Elizabeth went to Jim's dorm. She hadn't seen him in a few days because the guys were on a road trip. Luckily, they didn't have any more travelling until after Thanksgiving, so Elizabeth could spend some time with Jim.

Things were kind of tense between them. She hadn't told Mallory everything; she didn't know how much she could trust her. Mallory helped out a lot and maybe next time she could tell her more. Now she knew she could trust her. Elizabeth didn't tell Mallory about how mad Jim really was after she went to the apartment party with her and the other RAs. Jim said things were okay, but she could tell he was a little ticked. She didn't want to talk about that tonight. She just wanted a quiet night with him to ease tensions and get everything back to normal.

Elizabeth arrived at Jim's a little early. He told her that he would pick her up, but Elaine gave her the car for the night and she felt bad that he had to go all the way out to get her just to come back.

**Knock, Knock, Knock**

Jim opened the door and had a surprised look on his face. He was in the middle of putting on his jacket; he was on his way out to get her.

"Hey, I thought I was going to pick you up," Jim was confused.

"Yeah but I got the car tonight and I just didn't want to be around Elaine anymore," his girlfriend sighed.

"Okay," Jim rolled his eyes as he cleared the way to let Elizabeth in.

She pretended not to see it and walked into his room. She put her coat on his desk chair and sat on his bed.

"Happy Days is on in a bit. You wanna watch?" Elizabeth asked.

"Nah," Jim shook his head, "I haven't seen it since that lame episode when Fonzie jumped over that shark."

"Yeah that was so dumb!" Elizabeth agreed.

Jim then sat down next to her on his bed. The brunette turned to look at her boyfriend and asked, "So what do you wanna do?"

The goalie looked at her and chuckled. He put his hand on her thigh, "Well…"

Elizabeth giggled, "Good, me too."

The couple began making out on Jim's bed. They started off at the foot of his bed, but slowly slide up to the top. Jim was on top of his girlfriend and began kissing her neck, she bit her lip.

"So how far are you willing to go?" he asked between kisses.

"Oh…you know," she said softly.

Jim suddenly stopped and said in a rather serious voice, "No, I don't know!"

Elizabeth shrugged. Drama and tension that she didn't want to talk about tonight, was about to come to a head. At least she didn't start it.

"You know how far we've gone," Elizabeth tried, "Let's just stop there."

"Whatever," Jim shook his head and got off her. He put his feet over and sat to the side.

"Jim, why are you being like this? Why are you keep pressuring this on me?" Elizabeth was annoyed.

"I'm not doing anything to you! And you can't keep assuming I know everything to do right! I don't know where you're heads at," Jim answered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she was confused.

"Like that night you went to that party…." Jim began, and Elizabeth rolled her eyes. It was the exact thing she did not want to talk about, "A few days before that you were really upset and never wanted to go to a party. And then I come back from a road trip and you're hanging out with some random guys laughing about the party you went to with them! The only time you don't seem to be over you're assault is when you're with me. But when you're with strangers it doesn't matter."

Elizabeth took a deep breath. He really thought about this for a while. She didn't really know what to say at first.

"Jimmy," she said, barely above a whisper, "I'm…sorry. I didn't know you felt this way."

"Yeah," Jim shrugged.

"Look, it's just different. Like when I'm with you I can be myself and I can talk to you. I was different around those guys because they didn't know me. They didn't know what was going on and what happened. And Jim, I am over it."

"Then why are you still being this way? You were ready before all that stuff happened," he complained.

"There's a lot of other stuff going on too. It wasn't just about that. It never was. I always told myself that when I lose it, it's going to be with someone who really cares about me and that I can trust," Elizabeth began, in a calm tone.

"And you don't think I care about you? You don't trust me?" he spat back.

Elizabeth was getting frustrated more than ever. She tried to explain calmly and he was just blowing up at her and accusing her. He wasn't in the mindset to talk right now.

"I don't know, Jim!" she exclaimed, "All I know it right now, you're picking on me and I feel pressured. So I'm going to go and we can talk about this when you're not angry."

Elizabeth got up and got her coat. Jim stood up but didn't follow. He watched her collect her things and walk towards the door. Jim wanted her to stay but didn't know what to do. The brunette began opening the door, when the goalie blurted out something.

"Elizabeth, stop! I, uh, love…you," he said slowly.

The ice skater didn't move for a second. Jim saw her close the door she was beginning to open. She turned around and had a big smile on her face.

"I love you too," she replied.

To the teenager, that was the confirmation. He loved her. He cared about her. That was all she needed to know. Elizabeth put her coat down and walked over to Jim. She sat him back down on the bed as she stayed standing. She took a deep breath and took off her shirt in front of him. She was ready. He looked up at her as she unhooked her bra. He removed his own shirt and Elizabeth got closer to him and began making out with him.

"I love you too," she whispered again.

**I hope you liked it! Please review!**


	33. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy

**Lulu: More Jim/Elizabeth tensions in this chapter. I hope you like it!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: More Elizabeth and Mallory parts, as well as tension with Jim and Elizabeth in this chapter. I hope you like it!**

**AN: This chapter is pretty long. I'm kind of disappointed by the lull of reviews I've gotten recently. So I'm hoping this long chapter will get all my wonderful readers back into the story. I really hope you like it! Please review when you're done!**

**Chapter 33**

Thanksgiving had passed and it was now the very end of November. After the holiday break, the guys went on a quick road trip to Boston to play Harvard, a game in which they won. The team was now back in Minnesota and thought everything was going great with the team. Then Herb brought in a new problem…

"I can't believe Herb would add this new guy," OC said spitefully to the teammates who were in his room.

"We already talked about this in the locker room," Jim sighed. It was after practice and they were all at the dorms, he didn't want to rehash.

OC brushed him off, "Well this conversation won't be over until Harrer's out of here."

"Herb will get rid of him," Phil added his two cents.

"Hopefully," Mac sighed.

"Hey guys," their conversation was interrupted by a girl's voice.

They all looked up and Elizabeth leaning into the doorway. She was holding an album in her hand. It was the new Village People album.

"Hey," a few of them replied back, with no emotion.

"Are you okay?" Elizabeth was concerned.

"Herb added a new guy to the rooster," Jim told her.

"What? Why would he do that?" Elizabeth left her post against the door and walked into the room. She was shocked. Jim told her that Herb already had to cut one more person, why would he add another? Now possibly two of the guys would be leaving.

Before any of the guys could respond, giggles of girls interrupted their conversation. Mallory and Katie, one of the girls on the floor, were walking down the hall and joking around. The two girls stopped in front of OC's door and the guys stopped their conversation.

"Hey guys," Mallory laughed, when she saw all the guys and Elizabeth in OC and Rizzo's room, "I've got the best idea!"

"Ever since Mallory came back from Canada she's become a nature chick," Katie joked.

"Yeah," Mallory nodded, "I'm hosting a bonfire. But get this; we're going to burn disco albums! Just like a few months ago in Chicago. It's the perfect way to end the '70s! We can erase all the shitiness."

"It's going to be awesome," Katie grinned.

"I don't know," Elizabeth sighed, "All my albums are good."

"Do you like ABBA?" Mallory asked, although she already knew they answer.

"They're my favorite band," Elizabeth answered.

"Okay, so we're going to burn all her albums," Mallory looked back at the guys.

Elizabeth gave a fake, sarcastic laugh and rolled her eyes.

"And we're going to burn Barry Manilow albums too…" the RA looked directly in a certain hockey player's direction and sighed, "Phil."

"That was a gift from an ex-girlfriend!" Phil tried to defend himself.

"You told me you liked him when you were drunk," Mallory shot back.

"I was drunk! How do you even remember that?" Phil questioned.

"People don't forget," Mallory said nonchalantly, then switched subjects, "So what's this I hear about a new guy?"

"Tim Harrer," OC shrugged, "And he's not the new guy."

"Whatever," Mallory shook her head, "Let's invite him to the bonfire. He can meet everyone."

"No way, Mal," Mac told her cooly, "He's not welcome on the team."

"Jeez," the blonde put her hands up in defense, "I didn't know. You guys get your albums together now and plan on keeping your Saturday free. I gotta go talk to Dan…I'll see you guys later."

Mallory walked away, leaving the guys in the same sour mood they were in before.

"I can't believe Mallory," OC sighed.

"I know!" Elizabeth agreed, "ABBA is a good band!"

The guys all gave Elizabeth a look; because she completely ignored the real reason they were mad. She then gave a small giggle, signaling to them that she was teasing.

"Jeez, you guys are stressed," the ice skater laughed, "I'll leave you with the Village People to calm down."

"We got to enjoy it while we can," Mac kidded, "Because it's going into the fire on Saturday."

"Verchota, you gotta go hide you're Manilow," OC joked.

The guys all laughed and Phil shook his head, looking embarrassed. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at this little scene, knowing that her joke triggered the funny music conversation. She started in this group as an outsider that no one could stand, and now she was making them feel better. Elizabeth really felt like she found her place in the group and she liked it.

Harrer practiced with the team for the rest of the week. When the weekend came the team was getting more excited for the bonfire. They didn't have a game or to travel on Saturday night. It was going to be the perfect way to blow off some steam. The team and some of the girls on the floor who wanted to go all carpooled together. Some of the cars were squished and some people with cars couldn't drive because there wasn't a lot of parking.

Mallory, with the help of another RA Dan, found a remote place in the woods. They brought a few kegs and charged people two bucks a head for it. If they were risking their necks to have an illegal bonfire than they figured they'd make a profit doing it.

A lot of people came, some who none of the guys knew. Mallory stayed by the fire most of the time, seeing what albums people threw in and making sure they were okay to burn. The pile was getting pretty big.

"I can't believe I'm burning the Village People," Elizabeth said sadly, looking at her albums that were currently on fire.

"It'll be good for you," Mallory put her arm in a friendly way around her shoulder, "Now I can teach you about real music."

"Alright," Elizabeth laughed, "But I still kept ABBA."

"No!" Mallory took her arm away from Elizabeth.

"Mallory," a guy's voice called out.

The two girls turned around and Mallory gasped, "Patrick!"

She trotted over to him and gave him a big hug, "It's so great to see you!"

"You too," the guy looked into her eyes.

The two released and looked at Elizabeth, who was confused. Mallory smiled and introduced the two.

"Elizabeth, this is Patrick," Mallory pointed to the tall, handsome guy, "We're old friends from home."

"And we went out for a while too," Patrick nodded.

"I think a year and a half is a little more than a while," Mallory chuckled.

"It's nice to meet you," Elizabeth smiled, "I'm gonna go let you guys catch up. I'll see you later."

"Bye," Mallory smiled, and then turned to engage in conversation with Patrick.

Elizabeth turned around and walked away from Mallory, Patrick and the bonfire. She looked up and saw Jim, Katie, and Mark all talking. She walked up to them.

"Hey those guys are gorgeous," Katie greeted Elizabeth when she joined their circle and nodded back to where she was coming from, "Who are they?"

Elizabeth turned around and saw Mallory was laughing with Patrick and a new guy that must've joined them after she walked away.

"Well the one right next to Mallory, his name is Patrick. He's Mal's ex-boyfriend," Mallory pointed to the older looking guy, "And the other one I don't know."

"Damn he's hot," Katie shrugged, "Too bad Patrick is off limits. Oh well, the other guy is really cute too! I'll see you guys later."

Katie left the group and walked over to Mallory and the two guys at the bonfire to introduce her self. Elizabeth looked over at Katie walking towards the guy and then had a weird look on her face that Jim noticed.

"I'm…gonna see what everyone else is doing," Elizabeth said to no one in particular before walking away.

Jim and Mark saw her walk off and exchanged a confused look.

"Well that was weird," Mark joked.

"Yeah," Jim rolled his eyes, "I should go figure that out. I'll see ya later."

Jim left Mark standing alone. He looked and saw Mallory and Patrick talking and laughing, and Katie and the other guy walking away together. He walked away to find some of his other friends and teammates to hang out with.

Meanwhile, when Elizabeth walked away from Jim and Mark she went straight for the keg. Dan was standing around collecting money from everyone. She gave him the two dollars and he gave her a red cup.

"Hey, Dan, can you help me out?" Elizabeth looked at Dan and then the keg. Dan was Mallory's friend and another RA. They hung out at a party together when Jim was out of town. Jim seemed mad that they hung out, but never said anything to her, so Elizabeth wasn't going to be rude.

"Sure," Dan chuckled, "So what's new with you, Ice Princess?"

"I told you not to call me that!" Elizabeth giggled and pretended to be offended, "But I'm really good. Nationals are coming up and I'm happy that I'm not getting too drunk at this party."

"Ahh why?" Dan laughed.

"Because that last party we went to together I was very drunk. That was before Mallory and I really talked. We like barely talked so I hung out with you all and random other people that night. I probably made an ass of myself," Elizabeth shook her head.

"No, you were funny," Dan told her, "You told every guy you met that they were in the friend's zone. You didn't do anything stupid."

"Thank God," Elizabeth sighed in relief, and then noticed he was done filling her red cup, "Thanks. See ya later, Dan."

"See ya," Elizabeth heard Dan call out as she was walking away.

Elizabeth looked back at him and nodded as she kept walking. With her head turned she accidently walked into someone, causing some of her beer to spill out to the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" Elizabeth immediately apologized before turning her head.

She looked over and immediately recognized who it was. It was that cute guy that Katie went to talk to earlier when he was at the bonfire with Patrick and Mallory. When first asked, Elizabeth didn't see him well enough but once Katie left to talk to him Elizabeth remembered who it was. His name was Eddie and he was someone she dated before she met Jim.

"Hey Elizabeth," he greeted her with a big grin, "How are you?"

"I'm good," she said softly, taking a sip of her beer, "You still living in that apartment?"

"God no," Eddie laughed, "Getting robbed seven times in four months really changes things."

"I bet," the ice skater chuckled.

Suddenly Elizabeth felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. She looked down at the hand and saw a red cup of beer, then looked up at saw her boyfriend. He held onto her loosely, Elizabeth figured it was to claim his territory to Eddie.

"Hey Liz," Jim greeted, "Who you talking to?"

"Eddie," the guy introduced himself, "I know Elizabeth from way back."

"How?" Jim was curious. He was acting weird, which was a turn off for Elizabeth. He released his arm and it was no longer around her shoulder.

"We dated for a few weeks," Elizabeth answered, then turned back to Eddie and ignored Jim, "So how do you know Mallory?"

"Mal? Oh we go way back," Eddie smiled, "We were good friends growing up and my brother, Patrick, dated her for a really long time."

"Even when we were?" Elizabeth was curious. Eddie nodded and Elizabeth gasped, "That's such a small world!"

"I know right!" Eddie nodded.

"Yeah," Jim interjected with a sarcastically excited tone.

Eddie could sense the tension, "It was good seeing you, Elizabeth. Have a good night."

"You too," Elizabeth smiled as Eddie walked away, back to Katie. Once he was out of distance she began to cuss out Jim, "What the hell was that?"

"What?" Jim asked.

"You were being rude to him," Elizabeth told him, "And very territorial. What was that about?"

"He wanted to flirt with you," Jim told her, "I don't blame him. You're the hottest one here. I just wanted him to know that you were already taken."

Elizabeth quietly laughed to herself and shook her head. She didn't really know how to respond to that. It was an accidental bump in and they talked for thirty seconds. She didn't think he wanted to flirt.

"Okay, just don't be weird like that again," Elizabeth gave a small smile. She wanted to pick her arguments and fighting over this and right now wasn't an ideal situation. She was letting it go.

"Why? Do you have more exes here?" Jim questioned.

"I don't know maybe," Elizabeth joked to try to lighten the mood.

The two walked back to the main crowd together and went their separate ways. Elizabeth went to hang out with Katie's roommate, Becky, who she was also friendly with and Jim went to hang out with some of the guys near the keg.

"Where did you get that red cup?" Becky pointed to her cup.

"Over at the keg," Elizabeth nodded back in the kegs direction.

"Thank God!" Becky exclaimed, "I've been drinking hard liquor all night, now I need to sooth it. Beer is like my water."

Elizabeth cracked up, "Becky, you're a hot mess. I love you!"

The two girls walked to the keg and saw Jim and OC standing next to it. Jim tried getting more beer out of the tap but nothing was coming out.

"Ohh looks like the tap is all out. Everyone got a turn," Jim shrugged, "Just like with Liz."

"Go fuck yourself," Elizabeth groaned before angrily walking away, not wanting to engage in an argument in front of the partygoers.

"Shit," Jim groaned. He didn't even know she was standing there.

"Let her go," OC advised, "Going now is just going to make it worse for you."

"I agree with OC," Becky nodded.

"Whatever," Jim put his cup on top of the keg, symbolizing that it was empty. Then he walked in the opposite direction of his girlfriend.

"Drama!" OC joked to Becky in a sing-songy voice.

"I'll say…" Becky chuckled.

Jim walked away and went to the fire. He wanted to see how it was looking. All the albums were turning to ash. It was actually a really cool site. He especially liked it because he hated Disco. He looked in the fire for a few minutes, thinking about Elizabeth. His thoughts were then interrupted.

"Hey, Jim," he heard a female voice. The goalie looked up and saw Mallory. She was standing there with that guy Patrick.

"Hey," he replied back shakily.

"Are you alright?" his RA asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah," Jim said insincerely, "Don't worry about it."

"Is it Elizabeth?" Mallory asked.

Jim nodded, "I don't know where she is now. I'm giving her space to cool off."

"You should go to her," Patrick, who wasn't even introduced to Jim, joined, "It always worked for me and Mal."

"You guys broke up, right?" Jim said coolly. He didn't want relationship advice from a stranger.

"We dated for a year and a half and we broke up because…well not because of too much fighting," Mallory said.

"Yeah," Patrick nodded.

"You should go find her," Mallory smiles, "She cares about you. You'll work it out."

"Yeah," Jim, reluctantly sighed, "I guess you're right. Thanks, _Mal_."

"Any time," Mallory smiled.

The goalie walked away to find his girlfriend. He had been pretty mean to her all night. He wasn't in the mood for apologizing, but she deserved to be heard out. Maybe she could get him to change his mind about it.

"He's kind of a douche," Patrick pointed out, after he left.

"He was the same with me too. But he's a great guy once you get to know him," Mallory smiled, then chuckled in realization, "Jeez, I've been helping those two so much lately."

"You've always been great with people, Mal," Patrick told her.

"I don't know if it's me. I just believe that you gotta have a little faith in people. Sometimes they'll surprise you," Mallory said, "Like I hated those two when I first met them. Now, I'm practically saving their relationship."

"Faith in people, huh?" Patrick thought aloud, "Do you think you'll have a little faith in me?"

"Huh?"

Meanwhile, the goalie looked everywhere for his girlfriend. She wasn't in the main area of the party, so he started looking where everyone parked. Jim finally found Elizabeth sitting on the hood of his car. She had a cigarette in her hand, but instead of smoking it she was fiddling with it between her fingers. Her eyes were focused on the cigarette and she didn't hear him coming.

"You going to smoke that or mind meld with it?" Jim interrupted her train of thought.

"Depends," Elizabeth shrugged, then looked at her boyfriend, "Are you going to judge me if I do? You've been judging me pretty harshly tonight…"

"Look, I'm sorry!" Jim tried, "I don't know what got over me tonight. I just…"

"You just what?" Elizabeth interrupted him, "You know I dated around before we started going out. It's not like I judge you because you have exes."

"Well mine weren't here tonight," Jim rebutted, "I didn't know how to react. I didn't know you dated around _that_ much."

"If yours were here I wouldn't have made a scene. What's in the past is in the past, Jim," Elizabeth told him off, "I dated him like a year before I even knew you!"

"You would've said something," Jim replied, "I know you! If one of my exes was here you would've had her head."

"No I wouldn't have," Elizabeth responded, "And why were you so pissed about Eddie? Are you like jealous or something?"

"Why would I be jealous of him?" Jim asked coolly.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and sighed, "I don't know. You have no reason to be. Jim, I love you. You know I love you. My thing with Eddie was a long time ago. I'm with you now."

Jim looked into his girlfriend's eyes. They were sincere. He knew she was right. She lost her virginity to him. For girls, that's a big deal. She didn't want to fight anymore and neither did he.

"I'm sorry," Jim whispered before kissing her temple.

Elizabeth finally threw her cigarette out of her hand and onto the ground. She looked up at Jim and gave him a small kiss on the lips.

"I love you," she told him.

"Let's get outta here," Jim put his arm around her shoulder and walked her to the passenger door.

Elizabeth got into the car and Jim walked around and got in on his side. The couple drove back to the dorms. They were supposed to drive other guys back, but they didn't want to deal with them. Plenty of people had cars, they could figure out their own way back.

Shortly after Elizabeth and Jim left, the night was coming to an end. Mallory and Dan made quite the killing, racking up over two-hundred dollars. Everyone was clearing out and a lot of the guys on the team were leaving or in the process of looking for their rides.

"Where's Jim?" Mac asked Katie as he looked around. The two of them and Phil were driven by the goalie.

"I saw him leave with Elizabeth like twenty minutes ago," Rammer answered as he passed him by to get to his own ride.

"Perfect," Katie groaned, "Now what?"

"Hey," Verchota joined them, "Have you seen Jim or Elizabeth?"

"They left," Mac shrugged.

"Perfect," Phil rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"You guys can drive with me," Mallory who heard their conversation from afar shouted, "It might be squished though. I'm also driving Mark and Rizzo."

"That's fine," Mac nodded, "Thanks, Mal."

"Sure," Mal nodded before turning back to Patrick, who was standing next to her.

Phil, Mac and Katie walked towards their direction because it was the way to her car. Patrick and Mallory were saying their goodbyes, when they reached the former couple.

"Think about it, alright?" Patrick hugged Mallory tightly.

"I will," Mallory said softly, before letting go of the hug, then playfully hit his chest, "I'll see you later."

"See ya," Patrick nodded before walking away to find his brother.

"What was that about?" Katie was curious.

"Long story," Mallory chuckled.

The group walked to Mallory's car and saw that Mark and Rizzo were already waiting outside when they arrived.

"We've got some more passengers, boys," she told Mark and Rizzo, then turned to Mac, "Can you drive? I'm really tired."

"Sure," he reluctantly sighed. He didn't really want to, but Mallory was the only reason he wasn't walking.

Mallory handed Mac the keys and the big group got into her small car. Mac was the driver with Mark in shotgun and Mallory between them. In the back sat Rizzo, Katie, and Phil. Once the car started, Mallory turned on the radio. It was a sung she didn't like and she groaned.

"I hate this song," the blonde shrugged, moving her hand towards the dial to change it.

"No! I like it!" Katie tried.

"This is Donna Summer," Mallory told her, "We just burned all her records!"

"I don't care I still like it," Katie said, "Don't change it."

"Yeah, don't change it," Phil piped in, not because he liked it. It was because he wanted to get a rise out of Mallory.

"Agreed," Rizzo chuckled, in on the joke.

The car ride began and after about one minute of listening to Donna Summer's 'Last Dance', Mallory made an announcement.

"So Patrick proposed…." The blonde told the car nonchalantly.

"WHAT?" Katie's voice cracked out of excitement, "When's the wedding?"

"Katie, she doesn't know when the wedding is yet," Phil said.

"Yeah he just asked tonight. Planning weddings usually take months and a lot of time," Rizzo explained.

"I haven't answered him yet. I told him I'd think about it," Mallory said, "What do you guys think?"

"Go for it, babe!" Katie answered almost immediately, "He's gorgeous."

"You can't marry a guy based on looks," Rizzo said, "It's based on a lot of things."

"Like the sex," Phil chuckled.

"I know that, I'm not stupid. But he seems like a good guy. He's nice, has a good job, he can take care of her. Those are things that girls think about rather than how good he is in bed," Katie told the two guys, "Mallory, do you know when you're going to answer him yet?"

Mallory did not respond. The car fell silent for a moment waiting for the RA. They noticed that the music was different, and on a new channel all together. Mallory was resting her head on the back of the seat and leaning close to Mac. Her eyes were closed.

"I think she's asleep," Mark looked down at her.

"Is she sleeping?" Phil asked in a loud whisper.

"I'm awake," Mallory told them, with her eyes still closed, "I'm just thinking."

"You keep thinking then," Katie said, "If a guy with a good job and was decent looking asked me to marry him I would say yes."

"Would you marry me, Katie?" Phil jokingly asked his hall mate.

"No," the girl said seriously, "You're going to be unemployed in three months and you're well…"

"BURN!" Rizzo cracked up.

The three in the backseat continued their conversation until they got back to the dorms. The front seat remained quiet the whole time. Katie, Phil and Rizzo walked back inside first, with Mac, Mark and Mallory following behind.

"Hey, Mal. About Patrick proposing to you and all…" Mac stopped his friend to have a serious conversation.

"Don't marry him," Mark told her.

"I know," she said quietly and nodded, "He proposed a year and a half ago and we broke up. I still don't want to marry him. I just didn't want to tell him that in front of everyone."

"Then why did you tell the car about it?" Mac asked.

"I wanted the radio to myself," she giggled, "And I figured if I distracted the scary kids with conversation, I could pick my own station in peace."

The three began walking again and during the walk, Mark thought of something.

"Why didn't you want to marry him the first time he proposed?" Mark asked as they kept walking.

"Because I'm not in love with him," Mallory answered, "I loved him sure, but love and being in love is completely different. I'd rather get married at ninety and be married for a day if I knew I was in love than getting married at twenty-two to a guy I just get along really well with."

"That's deep," Mac teased.

"Shut up!" Mallory shook her head and playfully hit his arm.

The three got inside and got up the stairs to their floor. They walked down the hallway and arrived at their rooms, which were opposite of each other.

"Guys," Mallory spoke up, "Sorry I was being an ass about the Tim Harrer thing. I think you guys will figure it out. If not, I'm here."

"Thanks," Mark nodded.

"Yeah," Mac said.

"Night," she smiled at her two friends before going into her room.

"Night, Mal," the roommates said in unison before getting inside their room too.

**So what do you think?**


	34. We Are Family

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for the review! Yeah Jim and Elizabeth are building a lot of tension, some you'll see here. It's going to become a lot bigger very soon!**

**AN: Here it is. Sorry it took so long! I've been so busy with school work these past few weeks. Anyways, I hope you like it! Please review when you're done!**

**Chapter 34**

A week had passed since the Disco bonfire. Tim was still practicing with the team, much to the guys disliking. They were about to go on a quick road trip to Milwaukee, only being gone for about two days. They were going to play the IHL All-Stars.

As Mark packed in his room he couldn't get how different this road trip would be out of his mind. This was the team's first road trip with Tim. He got along with a few of the guys, but no matter what they would never fully respect him because he wasn't with them since the beginning. The team was still getting used to each other and adding Tim as a new piece to their puzzle just wasn't working for Mark.

The hockey player thought of what he should do. He talked to his roommate Mac about the problem extensively. He knew OC had a problem because he complained about him practically all the time when he wasn't in the room. Rizzo was also feeling the pressure from Herb. He was starting to believe he was going to be replaced by Harrer. Rizzo didn't say anything, but Mark knew he was really worried.

Mark had so many thoughts going through his mind. He didn't want to talk about it with Mac or OC again because he's heard enough from both of them. Mark then remembered someone else he could ask: Mallory. After the bonfire she said that if they need any advice about Harrer than to ask her. She may have been exhausted and had a lot going through her mind, like how to say no to her ex-boyfriend's proposal, but she sounded genuine. Mark figured she would have a new perspective on the situation.

Mark left his room and went to the door right across from his. Like always, the RA kept her door open. When Mark walked in Mallory heard him and looked up from her homework that she was working on at her desk.

"Hey Mark," she smiled, "What's going on?"

"Hey Mal, I need your advice," Mark began.

"What's up?" she asked.

"It's about Tim Harrer. He's been practicing with us for over a week now and Herb really likes him. You said if we needed any advice to come to you…I just need like a fresh set of eyes on this situation," Mark explained.

"Hmm…" Mallory was thinking, "Well, uh, there's no sign for you all liking him and welcoming him to the team?"

"If we weren't all fighting for spots," Mark told her.

"I don't know," Mallory sighed. She wasn't an expert with sports or the relationship amongst teammates and coaches. The blonde didn't know what to suggest, "I'm sorry I wish I can be more of a help."

"That's alright," Mark shrugged. He thought she would be more helpful but was sadly disappointed, "Thanks anyways."

Mark turned to begin walking away when Mallory spoke up again telling him to wait. The hockey player turned around.

"You'll figure it out on your own, Mark," she told him, "All of you will. You know why?"

"Why?" had a smirk on his face. He was intrigued.

Mallory got up and went through her albums, "Hold on I've got the perfect song for this!"

"You always do," Mark told her.

"Bingo!" Mallory located the record, and then turned back to Mark, "Close the door!"

Mark gave a confused look, but did what his RA said. When the door was shut, Mallory took it out and put it in her case. Sister Sledge's "We Are Family" came on. The blonde then started singing to the chorus and dancing by herself, giggling along the way.

_We are family, I got all my sisters with me_

"Because you're a family!" she laughed, "You got brothers, but you get the gist!"

Mark chuckled and watched her dance for about thirty seconds. She then stopped and gave a big smile, pointing to the guy in the room.

"Is that a smile I see? On Mark Johnson's face?" she joked, "It's can't be!"

"Shut up!" Mark laughed, playfully hitting her finger away from his face.

"Learn to smile more, Mark," she nodded.

Mallory then turned from Mark and turned off the album. She put it in the case and put it once again in one of her many album bins.

"Don't tell anybody I have this!" she warned him.

It should have been burned at her disco burning bonfire. She harassed Elizabeth and some of the guys to burn all their stuff. If any of them found out they wouldn't stop teasing her, just like she had to them.

"Cross my heart," Mark looked her in the eyes as he crossed his heart.

"I'll see you later," she nodded towards the door, knowing the guys had to get going soon, "Good luck on your road trip."

"Thanks Mal," Mark nodded, then he remembered, "Good luck to you too. With talking to Patrick an all."

"I already did," she gave an ambiguous look, "He took it like he took it last time."

"So you're not engaged?" Mark wanted to make sure.

"Nope," she shook her head. She never wanted to get engaged right now.

"Good," Mark nodded.

"Huh?" Mallory gave a confused look.

"Nothing, I'm just glad you're not settling," Mark told her, "I'll see you later."

"Bye, Mark."

He wished that she gave him better advice but she made him smile, maybe that was what he needed at that moment.

….

The team bussed it up to Milwaukee. They got there with a day in between their game so they had a practice and then free time that evening. A few of the guys opted to go out that night, but some wanted to rest up for the game.

Jim, Pav, OC, Mac and Rizzo all stayed in and played some poker in Jim and Rizzo's room, with the TV on the in the background. They played on almost all the road trips and sometimes back home when they didn't feel like going out. While playing, Elizabeth called Jim so he sat out to talk to her. He was leaning against the night stand while watching Charlie's Angels and hearing the guys' conversation. Too much noise was going on in the room right now to really talk to Elizabeth. Jim didn't care too much though; he hated talking on the phone with her when he was with the guys.

"Yeah Elaine is a bitch," Jim shrugged and shook his head, mouthing 'no' to the guys while they were watching.

The guys chuckled at his facial expression, as he continued talking with his girlfriend.

"It may be annoying but with Elizabeth he gets constant action," Mac told the group.

"Last time I heard it was bad action," OC joked.

The guys listened in more on Jim's side of his phone call with his girlfriend.

"Yeah well Mallory's a dumbass…No that's not cool. Don't try it…I gotta get going…"

"Come on tell the girl you love her man!" Pav cracked up.

"I love you with all my heart!" Rizzo copied some line from _The Godfather_.

"Yeah…you too. I'll talk to you later," Jim than hung up the phone and got off the side table.

"Why didn't you tell the girl you love her, man?" Pav laughed.

Jim rolled his eyes and shook his head as he walked back to the table and sat down with the guys.

"So has she gotten better in the sack yet?" OC asked nonchalantly.

After they had done it for the first time, Jim told the guys about it in the locker room. She wasn't very good at all, which was understandable because it was her first time. Jim didn't want to tell that to her face though, because she would get pissed. Jim silently hoped that after doing it a few more times she'd get better.

"Uhh…she's trying," Jim answered.

"Aww like the little engine that could…of sex," Pav joked.

"So what idiot thing is Mallory doing now?" Rizzo chuckled, changing subjects.

"Ohh, she's stealing drugs again," the goalie shrugged.

The RA had apparently done it before. Jim remembered after getting home from an away game and a few of the other RAs and his girlfriend were talking about it. They thought she was stupid and going to get hurt. He didn't understand why she did it.

"I bet she doesn't and just buys them," Mac sighed, "She probably just says she does to sound cool."

"Well it's working. All the girls on the floor worship her," OC said.

"Now Elizabeth does too," Jim sighed.

"Does she just do pot?" Pav asked Jim, "Or is she into hard drugs?"

"I think she does harder drugs," Mac answered instead, "I'm pretty positive she does coke. Like when we were together last year, she would sometimes go to back corners of clubs and do it. I don't know if it was because of her mom or she was doing it before…but when she came back, that wasn't powder donut stuff around her nose."

"Wow," Rizzo cracked up, "Mallory's a champ!"

"What's she going to do when the 70s are over?" Pav joked.

….

The guys ended up winning the game against the IHL All-Stars the next night. The road trip to Milwaukee was only two days. Instead of spending an extra night at a hotel; they decided to bus it back to the U after the game. The bus ride would be six hours long so Herb and Craig decided to go out to eat first before really hitting the road. The bus found a diner serving all-day breakfast which was open twenty-four hours, and the team decided they wanted to eat there.

The guys all got seated and ordered. Mac, Mark, Rizzo and OC sat together at one table. At first they were just talking about the game and other things while they were eating. Suddenly the table that Tim was sitting at with a few of the other guys was all laughing and the guys all looked over. The elephant in the room was now out.

"Guys, I think we need to do something about Harer tonight," Mac sighed, while glancing at Tim, "Before it's too late."

"What do you think we should do?" Rizzo asked.

"Should we talk to Craig about it?" Mark questioned.

"No," OC shook his head, "We should confront Herb."

"Yeah," Mac nodded in agreement and pointed at OC. OC acknowledged it and did the same.

"How are we supposed to do this? Just walk right up to him and tell him to kick him off the team?" Rizzo wondered.

"That's exactly how we should do it!" OC exclaimed, "Herb needs to know our side. This isn't fair."

"Come on, Riz. You should be wanting this guy off the team the most! We need to talk to Herb as soon as possible," Mac said.

"This stupid Tim thing has gone on way too long," OC shrugged.

"I know that! I just want to do this professionally. Herb's never going to listen if we just go up to him and like attack him with kicking Tim off the team," Rizzo tried.

"Well what other way can we do this?" Mac asked, "I don't think we should tip-toe around the issue anymore."

"How about we talk to Craig first? And maybe he can get us a meeting with Herb," Mark spoke up.

"Yeah," Rizzo liked the idea, "That could work."

"If we do this," OC sighed, with an annoyed look on his face, "We're doing it tonight."

The guys all paused for a moment. They didn't like that Tim was brought in so late. It wasn't fair to all the other guys trying out. The team was still playing well, but something just didn't feel right on the ice when Tim was there.

Their silence was broken by noises of chairs being pulled out and guys getting up. Mark, Mac, Rizzo and OC stood up too and followed their teammates. They were a little behind the pack, footsteps behind Craig and Doc. Herb led the way onto the bus.

"Hey Craig," Mac called out.

The assistant coach stopped in his tracks and turned around to see four of his players approaching him.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Craig nodded.

"We need to speak to Herb," OC told him.

"About what?" Craig questioned.

"Tim," Mac answered, "He's gotta go…"

Craig took a deep breath but nodded in understanding. He glanced back at the bus and then back to the guys.

"I'll get him," Craig said, "Stay right here."

The assistant coach left the four hockey players in the middle of the diner parking lot. The bus was close by and about a minute after Craig left, Herb stepped off the bus.

When Herb approached them, the guys all of a sudden became very nervous. They realized they didn't really plan on what to say. But there was no time to plan now…

"This better take about two minutes…" Herb said as he walked towards them and put his hands in his pockets.

No one spoke up for a moment and they all looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Maybe they hadn't thought of this plan all the way through. Maybe their emotions clout out reality and judgment. Maybe they were about to make a huge mistake. Then OC spoke up, with the first thing that came to his mind.

Mark watched as the argument between his coach and teammates went on. He noticed Craig standing beside Herb, not saying anything either. Mark and Craig had a lot in common and bonded over their experience with this team. They both watched the showdown.

"That's not the point!" Mac, Mark's best friend on the team and roommate, exclaimed to the coach.

Mark looked away for second. He wanted to say something. He was always soft spoken, but the guys were all speaking up and fighting for this team. He had to do something to. With his mind scrambling to find an answer, a face popped into Mark's head. It was Mallory. He thought of them hanging out before they left on the road trip and her singing 'We Are Family" and dancing like an idiot, just to make him laugh.

"I'll tell ya what else he's got. He's got the attitude I want on and off the ice. So somebody here better tell me why I shouldn't be giving him a hell of a look!" Herb got defensive and tested the guys.

"Because we're a family!" Mark finally got a word in.

The guys all looked at Mark with surprised and shocked expressions on their faces. So did the coach. Although, Mark was standing close to the center he didn't speak for the whole time. The others forgot that he was even there because of his lack of presence in the conversation.

Herb questioned this, but the guys just agreed with Mark. Herb now understood why Tim couldn't be on the team and so did the guys. The team didn't understand why things felt off on the ice and in the locker room, but suddenly it was clear. They were family and Tim was threatening that. Things weren't going to be the same again until he was gone. Coach agreed to let them go and walked back to the bus with Craig. The guys all followed behind and congratulated each other.

"Dude, where did that come from?" Mac chuckled to Mark right before boarding the bus.

The four got on the bus and got seated. The bus began and they were off to their long journey back to the U.

The bus pulled in to the parking lot around 4 AM. Usually the guys bring their cars to the rink and keep them there and drive back after getting in. But this weekend was a pee-wee hockey tournament at their rink so there weren't enough spaces. Instead, the bus dropped them off right at their dorm. Tim, who didn't live in that dorm, walked back to his own. They wouldn't be seeing him again.

Walking into the building it was pretty quiet. It was a school night and four in the morning, nobody was awake. They went up to their floor, which was completely empty. The guys walked down the hall to their particular room. Getting farther down the guys could hear faint music. A door was open. It was Mallory's. She was playing some soothing Bob Dylan "Blowin' in the Wind".

Most of the guys were exhausted so they didn't stop at Mallory's to chat. They walked by her room, but Mallory didn't really notice. She was scrambling around her room, trying to get it in order. Mark and Mac, who lived right across from her wanted to know why she was cleaning at such a late hour.

"Mallory, go to bed. You look like shit," Mac chuckled beginning the conversation.

Mallory, who was off in her own world, didn't even realize that Mark and Mac were standing right outsider her open door. She looked up and rolled her eyes at Mac's comment.

"I'm frazzled," she shrugged.

The RA looked it too. Her hair was in a messy bun and she was wearing her big John Lennon-esque glasses.

"Why are you cleaning so late, Mal?" Mark asked.

"Well I was about to step into the shower when I realized that I had no clean underwear or pairs of socks to change into. So I needed to do laundry. And when I do laundry I always clean my room," the blonde explained.

"That's good. It was getting to be a sty," Mac joked.

Mallory rolled her eyes and nodded in agreement, "Tell me about it. So how was your trip?"

"Exhausting," Mac answered first, "I'll tell you about it tomorrow. I'm crashing."

"Night," Mallory bid her farewell to her friend.

Mark stayed standing outside Mallory's door for a moment. When Mac was inside their room, he spoke up.

"Hey Mallory," he began, "Thanks for everything before, with the advice about Tim and stuff. It really helped."

"You're welcome," Mallory grinned, "Is he gone now?"

"Yeah we talked to Herb tonight about it," Mark answered.

"That's great, Mark," Mallory was happy for him and the team, "Congrats!"

"Thanks!" Mark smiled and nodded for a few moments, "Well, uh, I should be heading to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

He gave her an awkward salute goodbye, like something seen out of the Navy. He didn't really know why he did it. It was four in the morning and he was exhausted, he didn't want to think about why right then and there.

"Night Mark," she saluted him back and chuckled.

Mark turned around to go to his room but then turned back to Mallory, "And Mal, you don't look frazzled. You always look good."

"Thanks," the blonde blushed, "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"See ya."

**So that was it. I hope you liked it! Please review!**


	35. Go Your Own Way

**Peachy65: Thanks for the review! Yeah I watch Charlie's Angels online sometimes. I liked the episodes I've seen.**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the guy parts. I'm definitely having more of those coming up in the next few chapters!**

**AN: Here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it! It's named after the Fleetwood Mac song. Please review when you're done!**

**Chapter 35**

A few days had passed since Tim had left the team. The guys were really happy to see him gone and practices were getting better again. It was a Tuesday night with nothing really to do. Most of the guys, except for Jim, didn't really have plans. Jim was going out with Elizabeth, who was leaving the next day for the National Championships this weekend. Instead of going over to pick his girlfriend, Elizabeth insisted that she pick him up at the dorms.

When the ice skater got to the dorms, she got up to Jim's floor and walked down the hall to get to his room. While walking, she saw Mallory and Katie hanging out outside of Katie's room.

"Hey guys," Elizabeth greeted the two girls, "What's up?"

"Not much," Katie answered, "What are you doing here? I thought you and Jim were going out tonight."

"We are," Elizabeth nodded, "I'm picking him up. We're having a little role reversal. He's just been really stressed and everything. I wanted to treat him to dinner tonight. I'm the guy tonight, picking him up and paying."

"That's very nice of you," Mallory chuckled, "A lot nicer than anything I've ever done for my boyfriends."

"Same here," Katie laughed in agreement.

"I'm sure that's not true!" the ice skater tried.

"Next time you come around we can tell you a million stories," Mallory laughed, "You're going to think we're like the worst people!"

The three girls chuckled, and then Katie changed the subject.

"So, the National Championship is coming up soon! Are you excited?" Katie smiled.

"Yeah they're this weekend," Elizabeth chuckled, and then blushed, "I'm mostly nervous though."

"Don't worry about it!" Mallory exclaimed, "You'll do great. What song are you performing to?"

"Tara's Theme," Elizabeth told them, "From 'Gone with the Wind'."

"I love that movie!" Katie gasped.

"That's awesome. You kind of look like Scarlet O'Hara too. I bet your costume is gorgeous. Are you going for a bold red? Or emerald green? That's so Scarlet," Mallory wondered.

"No," the teenager shook her head, "I'm using that pink material I bought at the mall that time we met up. I try not to go too bold with my costumes or routines. I play it safe."

"Why not?" Katie wondered.

"I've seen people try to be bold. They get hurt. I refuse to get hurt doing this," Elizabeth said seriously.

Mallory was taken aback by her comment. Ice skating was an art and she was trying to control it. She remembered hearing the guys talking once, over the summer before she really knew her, about Elizabeth's rankings. She was 11th in the country, a tremendous feat. The reason she wasn't higher was because they said she never tried anything new, going for classic and conventional rather than experimenting with the art. Mallory never understood why they would think that until right that moment.

"Oh," the RA was confused, "But I mean you can't control everything. Anything can happen on the ice."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Elizabeth replied back coolly.

Katie and Mallory both sensed the tension and backed off. She was really nervous about Nationals. They didn't want to push it anymore. But even if they wanted to, there was no time. Right at that moment, Jimmy came out.

"Hey," the goalie walked over to his girlfriend.

"Ready to go?" Elizabeth smiled.

Mallory looked closely at Elizabeth. Her lips were smiling, but not her eyes. A real smile consists of both. She was faking it.

"Yeah," Jim nodded, and than looked at Mallory, "She's leaving for Nationals tomorrow. They're this weekend in Cincinnati."

"Yeah we were talking about that," Mallory replied, looking at Elizabeth instead of Jim.

She didn't really know what else to say. She was trying to figure out the ice skater. Elizabeth was trying to de-stress Jimmy. It should have been the other way around. Jim just got over the major stress of Tim and he was pretty much guaranteed a spot because he was goalie. What the hell was he stressed about? Elizabeth was fighting for her Olympic spot this weekend. She must've been dying inside.

"Bye, Mallory," Elizabeth nodded to the RA before she began walking away from her boyfriend.

"Elizabeth," Mallory shouted out, "Good luck this weekend! And if you need anything…call me."

"Thanks," the ice skater gave a small smile, and walked back with Jimmy, who seemed confused by Mallory.

Before Mallory knew it, Jimmy and Elizabeth were gone. She didn't really know why she said it. Mallory kind of helped out with their relationship when Elizabeth felt weird about the physical stuff. But this was different. The emotional stuff was the hardest, and something was definitely not all the way right with that couple.

Mallory and Katie walked away and went to Mallory's door. Mac and Mark's door was open and a few of the guys were in there, trying to make plans for the night.

"I don't want to go to the bar too early again," OC sighed.

"It's boring if we go before ten-thirty," Verchota agreed.

"Do you guys just wanna go out to eat before then?" Mark suggested.

"I want to eat at the bar. They make these massive cheeseburgers and they're awesome!" Mac exclaimed.

"Hey, boys," Katie walked up to their open door and greeted her floor mates, "What's going on?"

"We're just trying to figure out where we're going tonight," Mac told her, "Before the bar I mean."

"You guys should come with us," Katie suggested and pointing to Mallory, "We were going to the movies tonight. They're showing an old movie."

"I don't know if that's…." Mallory finally joined the conversation only to be interrupted by OC.

"What's the movie?" he asked.

"'The Apartment'," Mallory answered, "I don't think you guys would like it very much."

Mallory didn't want the guys to come with them. She liked hanging out with them, but this was one of her favorite movies. It was long and very drawn out. She didn't think the guys would like it very much. She didn't want them talking or shuffling in the theater, ruining the movie for her.

"Doesn't that have Jack Lemmon in it?" Verchota asked with an excited tone.

"Yeah," Mallory replied uneasily.

"Perfect. He's hilarious. We should go see it, guys," Phil told the group.

A few of the guys agreed. Mallory rolled her eyes and shook her head, "This really isn't that funny of a movie…"

"It won the Oscar, didn't it?" Mac asked.

The RA nodded, and then Mac said, "Well it can't be that bad then."

"When does it start?" OC asked.

"We were planning on leaving now!" Katie grinned.

"Perfect," Mac stood up first and went right towards Katie, "Let's get going."

A few of the guys got up and followed Mac and Katie who were leaving the group. Mallory let all the guys pass her. Mark was last and closed his door. Mallory shrugged and shook her head.

"Perfect," she groaned to herself.

"What was that?" Mark missed what she said.

"Nothing," Mallory replied, "Let's get going."

….

The couple arrived to the restaurant and was seated. They ordered their drinks and were given menus for their meal.

"Jeez, the last time I was here was when I went with my brother," Elizabeth shrugged, thinking of the memory. She had just told her brother that she was dropping out of school. He was so upset that he knocked the table down and stormed out.

"Then why did you pick here?" Jim was curious.

"They have good chicken parm," Elizabeth giggled.

Jim laughed and then wondered, "Have you talked to your brother since?"

"Nope," his girlfriend shook her head, "He's really big on school. Like he goes to grad school here and my parents wanted him to 'look after' me a bit when I first moved out. It didn't really work out."

Elizabeth looked down at the menu, to look for a good appetizer. Jim stayed staring at his girlfriend. She never really talked about her parents, or her family for that matter. He remembered that she said that she was one of eight and that she hadn't spoken to her parents in seven months. But she said that three months ago.

"So have you, uh, spoken to your parents lately?" Jim asked.

Elizabeth eyes slowly crept away from her menu to her boyfriend. He never asked her that.

"Uh, no," Elizabeth shook her head, hoping that short answers would get him off the subject.

"Why don't you call them?" Jim asked.

"Well they don't call me either. It isn't a one way street," Elizabeth said coolly, "Why are you asking me?"

"I don't know. I'm just curious I guess," Jim answered.

"Well let's have fun tonight," Elizabeth reached out and grabbed his hand with her own and looked into his eyes, "I'm going to miss you this weekend."

"I'll miss you too," Jim replied half-heartedly as he looked down at the menu and began reading it.

Elizabeth shrugged and released her hand from his. Then went back to look at her own menu.

….

The group sat in the movie house watching "The Apartment". Jack Lemmon sneaked in a small joke, which no one in the group but Mallory laughed at. The guys and Katie gave her weird looks and she just rolled her eyes. She really wish they weren't here. Mallory heard heavy breathing and light snoring from the aisle. She looked and Mark, who was sitting next to her, had fallen asleep.

"Jesus," Mallory shrugged.

The guys looked to what she was talking about and saw Mark had fallen asleep. The guys all chuckled. The sound made Mark spur up, which caused the group to laugh some more. Mallory was not amused.

They watched the movie a little longer. Mallory heard murmured whispers from the guys sitting across the aisle from her. Then she saw OC, Mac, Katie, and Verchota get up.

"Hey we're going to the bar now," Mac said, "Do you want to come?"

Mallory shook her head and exclaimed in a duh voice, "No!"

They looked over to Mark, who fallen asleep again. Mallory couldn't believe it. She knew they weren't going to like it. Now they were making a scene in the theater that everyone could see. And they were distracting her from the movie!

"You take Mark to the bar when the movie gets out," OC told her.

"Alright," Mallory shrugged, "I'll see you guys later."

The group left and Mallory sighed in relief. She could finally watch the movie in peace. Then she heard Mark's light snores again. She chuckled and shook her head, unsure whether she should be mad or think it was funny. Then she went back to focusing on the movie.

….

Meanwhile, Jim and Elizabeth were waiting for their food. They were just joking around and having small talk. The ice skater really needed to tell Jim about something Elaine did, but was tip toeing around it. When there was a silence at the table, Elizabeth decided to speak up.

"So I need to talk to you about something I found out about Elaine today," Elizabeth sounded annoyed saying her coach's name.

Jim knew he was in for another long story. When she said 'my Elaine' it was an affectionate story, but when she said just 'Elaine' and in that tone, that meant she was really pissed off at her coach. Jim remembered she said that Elaine was distant and uncaring. She complained about her in the past and Jim never knew the right time to talk to her about it. Elaine always seemed fine to him.

"What's your issue with Elaine?" Jim asked.

"Well today, I went to my…." Elizabeth began before the goalie cut her off.

"No I mean in general," Jim told her, "Like even before we dated you complained about her. She was always nice to me."

Elizabeth took another deep breath. What was his deal tonight? First, asking about her parents and then Elaine. This was their last night together for almost a week. She didn't want this to turn into a confessional. She held back these stories in order to help the relationship. The ice skater didn't want her boyfriend to hear about her complicated family and coach relationships. When necessary, she bitched about her coach's daily antics to let the stress out. But most of the time, she held it in. Jim really didn't know the half of it.

"She can be nice," Elizabeth tried, "She's just…complicated. She can be really distant at times."

"How is she distant?" Jim questioned.

"I think all the people I dated and went on dates with are pretty clear clues that she didn't care too much about where I was," the ice skater told him.

"Most teenage girls would love that freedom," Jim chuckled.

"Yeah," Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "Well maybe some discipline would have been good for me. I have to discipline myself, especially in my skating. Do you know how hard it was to get my shit together and act like an adult right after I moved here when I was fifteen?"

Jim shook his head. He didn't really know what to say. Before he could really think, Elizabeth went on.

"I mean it was good for me because I feel like I work harder now on my skating," she was thinking aloud, "But sometimes…I just wish I had more of a guide and someone who was there for me. I live in her house but that's it. I take care of myself. It gets lonely…"

"So is that why you dropped out of school? To work more on skating and stuff?" Jim asked.

"Well I'm not going to be able to practice my triple axel if I have to study for my Calculus test," Elizabeth told him, "In competitions I always come in fourth. This one…I won't be. I can't be."

Jim chuckled and shook his head. He knew his girlfriend's schedule pretty well. She would skate before or after the team. And that was the only time she would skate in the day. Afterwards she would go home and nap, then go and see him at the dorms. She easily could have fit school in.

"Why are you laughing?" Elizabeth gave him a confused look. She was telling him something personal about that fourth place thing. It made her really upset always missing out on being in the top three.

"You only practice once a day for two hours. You could study for Calculus on the side. You don't do anything else during your days," Jim told her, "If you were that serious than you would squeeze in another practice."

"Are you saying that I don't work hard enough?" Elizabeth looked a mix between pissed and upset, "I dropped out school in order to get to the Olympics. I'm going to Lake Placid! Don't you dare tell me I don't work hard enough!"

Jim didn't want this to be a fight, but it was turning into one. He had a lot he wanted to say to his girlfriend, but never did in order to be nice, like bringing up her work ethic and Elaine. She always told him how hard she worked, but in reality Jim didn't think it was that much. He went the extra distance by having extra practice every afternoon with Craig after his real practice.

"No, I'm just saying you don't work as hard as you say you do," Jim tried pointing out her fault without sounding too harsh. It wasn't as nice as he thought it was. The ice skater looked pissed after that.

"What the fuck do you know about it? You don't even know me!" Elizabeth exclaimed harshly.

Jim finally let it out after his girlfriend said this. He was just trying to tell her his feelings and she reacted like this. That's why he doesn't like confronting her about stuff, even when he thinks she is wrong. Jim never felt truly connected to Elizabeth, because he always believed she was holding things back from him, which is why he held things back from her.

"Exactly, Elizabeth! I don't know you! You never let me all the way in. Like with your parents and your family! Why don't you talk to them? And Elaine! You complain about her all the time! It sucks that she isn't there for you all the time, but you can't complain about every little thing she does!" Jim exclaimed.

Elizabeth shook her head. She thought he was completely off base. She couldn't believe he said he hardly knew her. Why did he tell her he loved her then? You're supposed to really know someone if you love them.

"I don't like talking about my parents or family because it upsets me. They abandoned me here! And Elaine isn't perfect. You've never lived with her; you don't know some of the shit she pulls. She did the worst thing today…"

"Elizabeth, I don't want to talk about Elaine!" Jim shrugged.

"You want me to open with you and let you in. I'm trying right now! And you don't want to talk about it. You just contradicted what you said!" Elizabeth's voice rose, "By the way, if I don't let you all the way in, than why did you tell me you loved me?"

Jim was silent. He didn't know what to say. Sometimes he loved her. She had a great smile and he loved her laugh. Other times, however, were a different story, like when she complained about Elaine.

"You don't really love me, don't you?" the ice skater was near tears. She lost her virginity to him.

"I can't fully love you if you don't let me in," Jim tried, honestly.

"And I can't let you in if you don't want me to talk about it," she hissed, "And I can't be you're girlfriend if you lied, telling me you loved me so I would sleep with you."

"Elizabeth! It's not…" Jim was cut off by the ice skater standing.

"Save it," she told him, confident with her decision, "I'm done."

Elizabeth tried getting her coat off the back of her chair and it was stuck. She pulled it so hard in anger that the chair fell over. At least it wasn't the table.

"Elizabeth, will you just stop?" Jim stood up walking over to her.

"These people think I'm a freak now!" she said angrily, "I'm leaving."

"How am I supposed to get home?" Jim tried to reason with her. She was in a bad state right now; her normal self would have driven him home, wouldn't she?

"Find your own way!" she exclaimed, "See you in Lake Placid, asshole!"

The brunette stomped away. Right then the food came. Perfect timing. Everyone in the restaurant saw the scene after Elizabeth accidently knocked over the chair. Jim avoided the patrons' stares and sat at the table. He didn't want to eat by himself. He had to pay the bill and figure out a way home.

"Check please," Jim told the waiter who delivered the food.

It had finally happened. The tensions the couple had had for weeks now exploded. Jim always wanted to say all this stuff to her but never knew how. Elizabeth always held back her feelings for the sake of the relationship. Now it was over. Jim didn't really know what to think about it.

'We can figure this out after Nationals,' he tried telling himself as he sat alone at the table, waiting for the check.

…

"Mark," the hockey player was woken up by someone shaking him.

Mark took a deep yawn breath and looked up. It was Mallory. He looked around to figure out where he was, too out of it to remember. He saw an empty movie theater and looked up to his RA. She had a pissed off look on her face. He must've fallen asleep during the movie.

"Get your shit together," Mallory shrugged, "I'll be at the car."

Mallory then stormed off. Mark yawned and stretched. He felt really bad for falling asleep during the movie. He was kind of one and off for the majority. He must've really passed out within the last half an hour. He remembered sensing the rest of the guys leave, but was still in a half sleep state. He stayed because he didn't want Mallory to be alone, but that just really blew up in his face.

Mark got up and picked up the trash by his feet. He threw them away and then went to the bathroom. Mark left the movie theater and walked through the parking lot to get to Mallory's car. Getting closer to the vehicle he saw Mallory sitting in the driver's seat, crying. He had never seen her cry before, nobody had. On some occasions, she had been close to crying according to a few guys, but instead she just had a really red face and was sad. He could see tears, this was definitely crying.

The hockey player took a deep breath and walked into the car. He opened the door and got inside. When he opened the passenger door, he startled Mallory. She looked at him as he got into the car.

"Look Mal, I'm really sorry I fell asleep and that the guys left…." Mark tried, thinking that was what she was upset about.

Mallory chuckled and shook her head. She looked away from Mark and looked straight forward at the parking lot. She didn't want eye contact.

"I'm not mad about that, Mark. I don't care that you fell asleep or that the others left. To be honest, I'm surprised you all showed up at all," Mallory told him honestly.

"Then…why are you sad?" Mark was still looking at her, even though she wasn't.

Mallory paused for a moment, sighed, and then looked at Mark, "Because I realized when I was watching the movie, that I'm Fran."

Fran was Shirley MacLaine's character in _The Apartment_. Mark saw bits and pieces from the movie when he wasn't zoning out. Fran was a character that was used and seen as an object to all the male characters. Jack Lemmon's character was in love with her.

"How are you Fran?" Mark was confused.

"Where have you been for the past six months?" Mallory asked, then shrugged, "You guys, and this team…jeez, I don't know what I did."

"Mallory, I really don't know what you're talking about," Mark tried.

"OC slept with me because he saw me as an object and something to get over his girlfriend. Silk slept with me because he didn't think I wanted a relationship, something not serious….you guys keep playing around with my emotions and I don't know why. What did I do to make you guys think I was easy?" Mallory began tearing up again, "I'm a relationship person. As soon as I mention it, people run towards the hills. Why? Why would they do that?"

Mark shook his head, "I…I don't know."

Mark didn't really know the full extent. He remembered on move-in day how when Verchota and Mac were talking about their hook up thing several months before, that they cast her in a not so good light. The guys on the team kind of formulated their opinions of her based on that. They liked her and thought she was a good person, but since hooking up with Mac and then others on the team after that, none of them thought she was looking for something beyond a hook up.

"I feel like no one respects me or takes me seriously. They never took Fran seriously, even after she tried to kill herself…" Mallory looked away from Mark again.

"Mallory, you can't…."

"I never said I was going to," Mallory looked back at the hockey player, "I just want to know why none of the guys respect me? Why they think they can just toss me around like I'm an object I'm not an object, I'm a human being!"

"We know that, Mal," Mark told her.

"I mean I've slept with Mac and OC and Silky and…" she was about to say Rizzo, but luckily she stopped herself. He was her biggest regret. Luckily she didn't let it slip out.

"And what?" Mark asked.

"And I feel like I'm lost," Mallory told him, "I don't know who I am or what I'm doing. I think these guys want something more from me than just sex. And when I say I want to go further with the relationship, they act surprised. And like, I used to spot those guys out, the ones that cared about me and the ones that wanted me just for sex. And now I'm going with these guys that I know won't care about me…I don't know where I lost myself along the way."

Mark really didn't know what to say. Over the past several months, he had gotten to know his RA pretty well. She wouldn't say this to anyone like Verchota or OC. She was venting to him for a reason. She was close to Mac too, but she could never fully open up to him about that because he had been one of the guys she slept with. She didn't have sex with him for a relationship though, he was the only one. She was with him to forget about her mom.

Mallory looked away from Mark after he didn't say anything for a few seconds. Now she felt embarrassed about letting out all these feelings.

"I'm sorry," she still didn't look at him, her face was turning red from embarrassment, "I just…I guess I needed to be close to someone since my mom got sick. I just have been getting involved in the wrong sort of shit."

Mark still remained silent as Mallory let her feelings out. She didn't want to look at him anymore. When he didn't say anything, Mallory assumed that he thought she was a freak. They two sat in silence for moment. Then Mark made his gesture. He put his arm around her shoulder, symbolizing to her that it was going to be okay. They didn't need to exchange words. Mark figured that Mallory needed someone to be there while she let her feelings out.

"Thanks Mark," she finally looked at him, with a small but sincere smile, "You're a really great friend."

"Any time," he nodded at her.

"We should get going. I told the guys we'd meet them at the bar," Mallory told him.

Mark took his arm off her shoulder and sat confused. She just had this really emotional moment where she hated everyone because they didn't respect her, and now she wanted to meet up with them at the bar?

"Mallory, we don't have to go to the bar if you don't want to," Mark tried.

"Mark," she said softly, "I can put on a face. I've put on a face every day since my mom got sick and especially after she died. I'll be okay…"

…..

The week had ended and the weekend had passed. At the end of the weekend, Jim wondered how Elizabeth did in the National Championships. He didn't say this to the guys though. They knew about the break up, but to save his reputation Jim said he dumped her. The goalie didn't know how his ex did because he didn't know where or how to check. It wasn't in the newspaper.

After practice got out on Tuesday, a week after the break up, the guys were all skating to get off the ice. When Jim got closer to the side, he saw a familiar face. It was Elaine.

"What the hell?" Jim was confused.

"Isn't that Elaine? Elizabeth's coach…" Mark asked his friend.

"Yeah," Jim nodded.

The goalie than skated towards Elaine. The guys filed off the ice. Jim stayed on and talked to Elaine, who was on the other side of the boards.

"Hey Jim," Elaine looked tired and annoyed. Her arms were crossed, showing she was uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Hi," Jim was confused. Why would Elaine be there? Did she have a message from Elizabeth? After all the bitching that Elizabeth did about her, she would not trust her with a message.

"Can you tell Elizabeth to come home now?" she shrugged, "I need her to, uh, babysit tonight."

Jim was really confused. He had no idea where Elizabeth was. She lived with Elaine. Besides they had broken up. Maybe Elizabeth hadn't told her yet.

"No," Jim told Elaine, "We broke up last Tuesday."

"Perfect," Elaine groaned, "Than I have no idea where she could be…"

"What are you talking about?" Jim asked, starting to grow worried.

"Last weekend at Nationals…she came in fourth," Elaine told him, "She was one-tenth of a point from third. Only the top three are going to the Olympics. She's not going."

"Jesus," Jim sighed. Jim knew she didn't want to be fourth place. It was her goal to make it to the Olympics and now it wasn't going to happen. Jim felt really bad for that fight last week now.

"Yeah," Elaine sighed, "And after the results got out she freaked out and bailed."

"What are you talking about?" Elaine's half-answers made it hard for him to follow her fully.

"Well, Jim, Elizabeth's been missing since Saturday. I thought she was with you, but I guess she's not. And now I have no idea where she is…"

**So what did y'all think? Please review!**


	36. Liar

**Peachy65: Yeah I love The Apartment too! The first time I saw it, it reminded me so much about Mallory and her place in the story. I had to include it. And as for Mallory, she definitely goes through a lot of stuff between now and the end of the story. And some of the things she does isn't exactly angelic.  
**

**Lulu: You'll find out where Elizabeth is soon!**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: I'm glad that line made you laugh. I was so nervous with all the drama in the story that people would be turned off. I'm glad you laughed because I actually like writing comedy more, but unfortunately the next couple chapters are all drama. I'm definitely going to throw in some fluff too, unfortunately there isn't any here though!**

**AN: Sorry it's been a while! I've been very busy these past few weeks. Anyways, here is the chapter. It was difficult for me to write because there is a lot of emotional drama, but after finishing, I am very proud of it. I guess you can say it's a character study of two character's relationship. Anyways, enough babbling, I hope you all like it!  
**

**Chapter 36**

It was Tuesday night and Jim sat silently at his barstool, waiting for his friend to take the one next to his. He already ordered a beer. He drank his slowly, taking in the taste. He was thinking about Elizabeth. Where could she be? She was from San Francisco, that's where her family was. But she couldn't be there. She hadn't spoken to her parents in almost a year. That thought upset Jimmy, who spoke to his father almost everyday. He couldn't imagine more than a week without talking to his dad.

She could be with her older brother. He went to grad school at Macalester. But she hadn't spoken to him since she told him she was dropping out of school and he threw a table. Elizabeth never told Jim her feelings on that, but he could tell that that scared her. Or maybe she was with her friend Scott Hamilton? Where the hell was he from? His sister lived on the floor, but they rarely talked so that would just be awkward. She probably wouldn't say anything anyways.

Jim's thoughts were interrupted by the familiar voice of his friend.

"Hey, Jimmy. How's it going?"

Jim looked up and smiled sadly at his friend, "Hey Mallory."

The blonde noticed the open barstool next to Jimmy's and sat down. She hadn't seen too many of the guys lately because of her busy schedule. She was lucky to run into Jim when she was going to a class and he was returning from practice.

"Sorry I've been so distanced," Mallory yawned, "I've begun studying for finals. When I'm not in class or in the library, I'm sleeping. Although, I did try to teach Bah, Mac and Pav about punk music a few days ago. After the first song, they ran for the hills."

Mallory chuckled at the memory, but Jim didn't really react. He gave a small smile at his friend just for being there. Seeing Jim's facial expression, Mallory sensed something was up.

"So what's going on?" Mallory gave her friend a concerned look. She wanted to know why he asked her here.

Before Jim could answer, the bartender came up to get Mallory's order. She got water and a burger. Jim gave her a confused look. Mallory was always willing to go for a beer or two.

"This is my study break," Mallory explained, "I need to eat diner than hit the books again."

"I'm sorry to be…" before Jim could finish, the RA interrupted him.

"I wanna be here," Mallory told him, "Now what's up?"

"Well you know Elizabeth and I broke up last week?" Jim asked.

"Yeah," Mallory nodded, as the bartender gave her the glass of water she ordered.

Jim sat silent for a moment and Mallory urged him to keep up with the conversation. She knew that he wanted to talk to her because he could never talk to the guys about his feelings like this. They understood each other that way, Mallory and Jim both knew it.

"What did you see her at practice or something?" Mallory asked while taking a sip of her water.

"No," Jim looked down at his hands, which were crossed with his thumbs twiddling about, and then he looked up, "She's gone."

"Wait, what?" Mallory was confused.

"Her coach doesn't know where she is," Jim explained, "Saturday she lost her competition and left Elaine."

"Jesus," the blonde sighed, looking away from Jim, then sighed, "Uh, are you okay?"

"I feel a lot worse about everything now," Jim told her, "I kind of assumed that I would talk to her after she got back and we'd work things out…"

"Well, you know what they say about assuming things, right?" Mallory looked at him coyly.

"Yeah, that it makes an ass out of you and me," Jim groaned.

"Well I was just gonna say 'Don't!', but that works too," Mallory laughed at her own joke. Jim was not amused.

"I just don't get it!" Jim sighed, "I mean I know sometimes she can be a little immature, but she left her coach and hasn't contacted her since. I'm really starting to worry."

"I'm sure she's fine," Mallory tried, "Besides, why did you want to get back together? I thought you said that you dumped her…"

Jim had told everyone after the break up that he broke up with her. It was actually the other way around. Jim's emotions and ego couldn't stand scrutiny from the guys if they knew the truth.

"Can I tell you the truth?" Jim bit his lip.

"Yeah," Mallory said slowly.

"We got in a big fight and she left. She broke up with me…" Jim confessed.

"Yeah, I figured," Mallory replied.

"How?" the goalie was confused. They had their fair share of problems, but he didn't think the floor knew everything about them.

"Her face when she picked you up last week on that date," the RA answered, "She gave a fake smile and her eyes almost looked….pained."

Jim didn't know what to say. She looked perfectly happy to him. Mallory, who was only with Elizabeth for a few moments, knew more about her feelings than he did. And he was her boyfriend!

"Am I blind?" Jim looked despondent.

"No," Mallory shook her head, "You're just a guy."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do now," Jim said, "I want to see her, but I have no idea where she is!"

Mallory looked into his blue eyes. The first few weeks of knowing her, he always gave her a cold stare. Now, he looked desperate and sad. The blonde felt terrible.

"Do you care about her?" Mallory asked, "Or are you just caring now because you don't know where she is?"

As Mallory posed the question, Jim gave her a blank facial expression. He had no idea. He cared about her, or at least he thought he did. They did get into that fight. Things were just so complicated. He liked having her in his life and wanted more than friendship but is that enough?

"Well you need to think about that," Mallory stood up from the barstool, and offered, "You need to relax. Do you want to hotbox in my car?"

"No," he shook his head, "I thought you had to study?"

"I do," she nodded, "This is just my break."

"I don't do that…"Jim sighed.

"Oh," Mallory felt awkward. She hated being that awkward person that asked non-smokers to smoke. She assumed that he smoked a little because some of the other guys did. She shouldn't have assumed.

Mallory sat back down next to Jim and her burger arrived. She ate quickly and he sat quietly thinking. When she was done, she had to get back to work. She can hotbox a different night. She got up and said her goodbye to Jim.

"I might not see you for a couple of days because I'll be studying. But tell me how things go," Mallory gave a reassuring smile.

"I don't think anything will go since I don't know where she is," Jim sighed, looking forward and not at his side where she was.

Mallory was silent for a moment. He was so confused and upset. She didn't know what to do. Then she went behind him and gave him a hug from behind. Mallory rested her chin on his forehead and part of her face was on his hair. She gave him a kiss on the back of his head, not romantically, but a friendly one. The RA wanted to help her sad friend, who needed a hug. Jim had a beer in one hand, but with the other he held one of her arms that was wrapped around him. They were the hug for a few moments.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly before letting go.

….

It was now Thursday night, two days since Elaine told Jim that Elizabeth was missing. He was still tense and pretty quiet around most of the guys, only joining their conversations sporadically. The guys could tell he was upset, even maybe feeling a little guilty. Jim and a few of the guys were hanging out in Mac and Mark's room when they saw a familiar face walking by.

"Is that Mallory McDonnell?" Mac jokingly questioned while squinting his eyes.

Mallory chuckled, "Ha ha, very funny."

"Where have you been? I feel like it's been forever since we saw you last," OC asked.

"Studying for finals," she groaned, sounding tired. She looked tired, with her hair in a frazzled bun and bags under her eyes. The John Lennon-glasses were probably going to come out soon.

The guys did a collective groan, meaning that they were sorry for her. This lightened up Mallory's face a little bit.

"Yeah tell me about it," she nodded.

"After you can show us some real punk music," Mac told her. Mallory tried teaching them about it, but they didn't like what they heard and left.

"I did show you! And I didn't even go into the real gritty underground stuff. The Sex Pistols are pretty main stream," Mallory tried.

"What was that song you had us listen to?" Mac asked.

"'Liar'. It's a pretty simple song, I don't know why you guys didn't like it," Mallory answered, "And the Sex Pistols were a good band. I mean they're songs were good, but they killed the punk movement in America."

"Can you get us more mainstream?" Mac wondered. Mallory had them listen to The Sex Pistols because she wanted to start them off mainstream.

"How about we try The Ramones? Or Patti Smith? Or Iggy Pop? Or maybe David Bowie?" Mallory was thinking aloud, "Which do you wanna listen to?"

"The Ramones," Mac said, "Because they were in that movie."

"Alright," she chuckled.

Just then Katie came up to Mallory. The brunette hall-mate had books in her arms, much like Mallory.

"Hey. Ready to study?" then she turned to the guys and greeted them too, "Hey guys."

A few of the guys said hey back.

"Yeah, lemme get my books for that class," Mallory told her, walking towards her door right across the way, "You can come in if you want."

The two girls entered Mallory's room. The guys kept talking a little more and a few minutes later, Katie left Mallory's room alone. She was standing outside waiting for her. The guys noticed.

"What are you still doing here?" OC yelled out to Katie.

"I thought you were studying with Mal," Mac was curious why they hadn't gone to the library yet.

"We're going to. She's just on the phone with Elizabeth again," Katie sighed.

The guys gave her a confused look and Katie suddenly realized she shouldn't have said what she just did.

"Wait, what?" Jim stuttered.

"I gotta go," and with that Katie took off in a flash.

Jim couldn't believe it. Mallory had been talking to Elizabeth and didn't tell him. How many times had they talked? It had to have been more than once, since Katie said 'again'. He confided in Mallory about Elizabeth and how worried he was. Why the hell didn't she say anything?

Jim's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Mallory leaving her room. She had her book bag on. Instead of talking to the guys, she walked right down the hall, probably looking for Katie so they could study.

The goalie stood up and left the room without telling anyone.

"Jimmy, where you going?" he heard someone call out to him when he was already out the door.

Jim followed Mallory, who didn't notice that anyone was behind her.

"Mallory!" Jim shouted down the hall at her.

The blonde turned around and looked at Jim. She looked perfectly fine.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked as if nothing was going on.

"You tell me," Jim said tensely, "How's Elizabeth?"

Mallory gulped when she heard that. She wondered how the hell he knew that Elizabeth called. It must've been Katie…

"Answer me!" he said loudly.

Mallory breathed and looked around. She saw that the no one was in the floor's common room.

"Let's talk in there," she nodded towards the common room.

Mallory started walking, but Jim put his hand on her back, helping her along. The pair reached the common room and Mallory closed the door behind them.

"Why did you lie to me about Elizabeth?" Jim almost yelled.

"I didn't lie!" Mallory tried, with a weak argument, "You never asked if I spoke to her!"

"That's a load of shit! Why didn't you tell me that you guys have talked?" Jim asked.

"She didn't want me to," Mallory sighed, "She made me promise that I wouldn't tell you."

"When was the first time you spoke to her? Was it before we went to the bar?" Jim asked.

"She called me on Sunday. Then again yesterday and just now," Mallory answer, "She's called me three times."

"So you knew she was gone when we met up at the bar?" Jim was really pissed, and then shook his head in disbelief, "You acted so surprised. How could you lie to me to my face? You were the only one…The only one who knew how I felt. You were the only one I could trust!"

"I'm sorry," Mallory tried, "But I already promised her I wouldn't tell you!"

"You're so full of shit!" he said angrily, "A few months ago, you two hated each other. Why the hell would she call you?"

"Because she's not in a good place right now and she wanted someone to talk to about it. Since you never wanted to hear what she had to say…" Elizabeth must have told Mallory about their break up fight, because that's what it was about.

"Don't you dare bring that up!" Jim warned her, pointing a finger at her, "You don't know what happened!"

That stern finger prompted Mallory into attack mode.

"I know what happened. Jesus, you two were complaining about each other or weeks before this happened. And you're so full of shit, Jim! You lied to her and told her you loved her just to sleep with her!" Mallory began to raise her voice, "What the hell was that about?"

"You're the last person on the planet who should be judging me on sleeping with people," Jim told her, "You've slept with like half the team!"

"You have no idea what I've been through," Mallory shook her head.

This fight wasn't about Elizabeth anymore; it was about Jim and Mallory. They were two people with similar pasts, who have dealt with them in different ways. This small confrontation about Elizabeth was becoming a huge personality clash.

"I've lost my mom too," Jim told her, "And I didn't sleep around like a whore. Or smoke in the car when I was supposed to be studying!"

"I ONLY ASKED YOU THAT BECAUSE YOU WERE SAD!" Mallory screamed, "And you don't know anything I've been through! You had family and support after your mom died! I had no one! I had to leave school and take care of my younger brother! Don't you dare judge me on my personal choices! I've sacrificed so much! "

"You don't think I haven't given up anything! I almost didn't come here because of my family. They needed the money so I was going to go pro. The reason everyone lives in the dorms is because of me, because I couldn't pay rent. And everyone knows that!" Jim yelled, "A lot of bad shit has happened to me too but I don't sleep around and smoke all the time! I take care of myself so I don't end up dead like my mother!"

"Are you telling me I'm going to die?" Mallory asked, "My mom didn't smoke a day in her life and she died of liver cancer. My dad wouldn't hurt a fly and he was shot in the face because he was an unfortunate American man that got drafted! People don't die because of what they do. Everything is circumstantial! You can't control life, Jim!"

"I can try!" Jim yelled, "Because at the end of the day, I'm not lying awake in my bed regretting the choices I've made. I can't say that about you though!"

"You know what, you don't lie awake at night, but you try to control life…and that's what drove Elizabeth away from you," Mallory clenched her teeth, "Now, I gotta go. I've got bigger things to worry about besides me and you!"

Mallory opened the door to the common room and walked out. A few of the guys were listening from down the hall. It wasn't very hard, considering they were yelling the whole time. She looked back at them and glared, then turned and walked away. Jim followed her out the room.

"None of the guys respect you!" Jim yelled down the hall at her. He knew that would be a low blow, because respect was something she vied for the most.

Mallory turned and shouted back, "Tell me something I don't know!"

The blonde trudged away and Jim angrily walked in the other direction, towards the guys. He didn't want to talk to anybody right now. He opened his door and slammed the door shut.

….

Jim was still rattled a few hours after the fight. He had never honestly yelled at someone like that before. It kind of scared him. But another part of him was still very angry and upset. He truly felt like he could confide in Mallory and she lied to him. Mallory knew more than any of the guys how much he was really concerned about Elizabeth. How could she do that to him?

The goalie was hanging out with a few of the guys in Mark and Mac's room. It was good for him to be around people and try to calm down than to be in his room alone and getting angry by constantly thinking about it. Jim was on and off following their conversation. It was about hockey, like always.

"The Bruins aren't going to trade Bourque," Mac tried reasoning with OC, talking about the new hotshot rookie for the Bruins.

"He's wearing seven, just like Phil Esposito," OC said.

"And the Bruins are sometimes so dumb. I mean, we let go of Orr," Silk added.

"That was his agent's fault!" Mark exclaimed.

"The Bruins make mistakes sometimes, but a lot of teams do," Jim said half-heartedly, "I mean it hasn't been that long since we won that cup. How many more times can we fuck up?"

Just then, the guys saw through the open door that Mallory had returned. She didn't look at the guys and just unlocked her door and let herself in. She kept her door open, which surprised everyone. They assumed she'd want her privacy after that confrontation.

"Keep cool," Rizzo warned Jim in a hushed urgency.

Rizzo tried to start up a conversation, in order to prevent Jim from trying to confront Mallory and having part two to their argument. The guys joined in, including Jim, but he spent every few seconds looking at Mallory, who was looking for an album in her room.

Jim was paying attention to the guy's conversation when a song began playing from Mallory's room.

_If you're going to San Francisco_

_Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair_

It was Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco". Jim quickly looked up towards Mallory's room. She wasn't looking at him. Instead, she was getting books and binders out of her desk, exchanging them with the ones in her bag and getting ready for round three at the library that night.

_If you're going to San Francisco_

_You're gonna meet some gentle people there_

The goalie than realized where Elizabeth was. She was in San Francisco. She must have been with her parents. Jim smiled at the thought. It upset him that they hadn't spoken in almost a year.

When Mallory was done getting her books together for the library, she looked up and out the door towards Jim's direction. She looked directly at the hockey player and nodded with a straight face. That was her way of confirming it. Elizabeth was definitely in San Francisco. She physically wasn't able to tell Jim because of her promise to the ice skater, but playing a song wasn't saying it. She wouldn't have to break her promised to Elizabeth.

The short song quickly ended and Mallory turned off her record player, grabbed her backpack and went out the door. A few seconds later, Jim got up. The guys saw this all transpire, but didn't understand the full meaning of what went on, that Mallory in her own way told Jim where Elizabeth was. When Jim got up, they thought he was going for round two.

Jim got out of the room before any of the guys could react quickly enough. Mark and Phil were the quickest to get out of the room to try to stop Jim from fighting with the RA. When they reached the outside of the door, they saw what they never expected. Jim was embracing Mallory. The blonde stood there, looking tired and upset, and not hugging back. Even though they were hugging, Jim's words still hurt her.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered in her ear. Mallory couldn't help but think of a few nights ago at the bar when they were standing in opposite positions, with Mallory hugging and unresponsive Jim while whispering the exact same thing in his ear.

Jim let go and Mallory said something to the goalie that was inaudible for Phil and Mark, who watched the whole thing. Mallory walked away and Jim turned around and went back to where he was before.

"What the hell was that about?" Phil asked his friend when he returned. He was still stunned by the hug.

"We just…understand each other," Jim said.

"What?" OC was confused.

"San Francisco," Jim told OC and the rest of the guys, "Elizabeth is in San Francisco."

"That's great!" Rizzo encouraged, he knew, but not to the full extent, that Jim had been upset about Elizabeth leaving, "Are you going to call her?"

"No," Jim shook his head, "I'm going to her."

"Come again?" Mac was dumbfounded. He hoped he heard wrong.

"I'm going to San Francisco," Jim answered.

**Please review! I love them and they inspire me to write and get the next chapter out quicker!**


	37. San Francisco

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: I'm glad you like the differences between Mallory and Jim. This is an all Jim chapter, but he'll have some stuff with her in later chapters. I hope you like this one!**

**Peachy65: Thanks for reviewing! This whole chapter will be about the Jim and Elizabeth situation. I really hope you like it!**

**AN: Sorry it's taken so long! I've been so busy and when I wasn't I got in these strange writing block funks. It was awful. Anyways, I hope you like it. It is POV, which I know you guys like. This is probably one of the toughest chapters I've ever written. It's not perfect by any means, but it's about real emotion. I really hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Chapter 37**

**Jim's POV:**

I step out of the tunnel of San Francisco International Airport, or as they called it on the intercoms SFO. I look around and see all the people bustling by, running to get to their flight on time or waiting to pick someone up. They all had a mission, just like me. I had one day, well nine hours to be exact, to find Elizabeth. It was a Saturday; a day that I had no practices or games. I gave myself only one day off so Herb wouldn't find out and get mad.

I left early this morning, Minnesota time and arrived early San Francisco time. As I walk through the airport, I fix my watch to adjust to the time change. I had no bags to pick up, so when I pass by baggage claim, I keep walking. I don't have too much money so I decide to take public transportation to get to Elizabeth's.

I remember the neighborhood she lived in. It was called Potrero Hill, just like Dirty Harry. I think I only remembered because I loved the movie so much, but that's beside the point. I didn't know the address, so as soon as I get there I will have to look in a phone book they have in phone booths.

I get on the trolley I am told will lead me to her neighborhood and it's packed with other tourists coming in. There are no seats, so I stay standing. The entire trolley ride, I look outside at all the sights. I had never been to California. In preparation for my trip, I asked Mallory last night if I could listen to some Mamas and Papas. She leant me an album and slammed the door in my face. She was another issue I needed to resolve, but I can't think of her now. My mind has to be focused on Elizabeth.

Before I know it, the trolley reaches the Potrero Hill neighborhood. I get off and find the closest phone booth. I get in and look in the phonebook. There are four Gallagher families in total. I remember once she told me her address, but it was such a distant memory. I'm sure if I saw it, I would recognize it.

Bingo! I got it. She lives on Kansas St. I step out of the phone booth and ask for directions. It wasn't too far from where I was, so I decide to walk. While walking I realize why San Francisco is really known for their hills, especially this neighborhood.

After walking for about a half an hour I reach her house. My legs are worn out. Times like these, I wish I had my car or at least more money so I could afford cabs. But I didn't have that luxury. I walk up the steps to her house. There are a lot. I lose count after twenty.

I catch my breath when I reach the top of the steps. I made it, I'm here. I take one last deep breath before knocking on the door. I can't wait to see her face and the look in her eyes. She has the most beautiful eyes that I had ever seen.

The door opens, revealing a boy. He's tall and skinny, looking around fourteen. He must've been one of Elizabeth's seven other siblings. She was the second oldest of eight. The kid was looking at me to speak and I stand motionless for a moment.

"Hi," I paused; I never really planned out in my head what I would say, "Is, uh, Elizabeth here?"

The kid turned his head to the side and nodded towards someone inside the house, "Elizabeth, it's for you."

The boy left the door and I waited outside for Elizabeth to come. Moments later a woman arrives at the door. It isn't Elizabeth. She's an older lady, probably in her early forties.

"I'm sorry," I shake my head, "I must've gotten the wrong house…"

"Who are you looking for?" the woman asked.

"Elizabeth," I answer, "Elizabeth Gallagher."

"That's me," she gave a small smile.

"I must've gotten the wrong one," I say sadly, "I'm sorry."

The older woman looked me up and down and gave a small smirk, "You must be Jimmy."

I give her a confused look and before I could think of anything to say back, she talks before me, "Come on in."

Confused, I walk into the house. It's very modern and hippie style, a clash from Elizabeth's classic and preppy look and persona. Jim studied his surroundings. There was a pottery wheel in the living room. These people were definitely different. I never expected Elizabeth to grow up in this environment.

"Have a seat," the older woman offered.

"No thanks," I smile at her. I couldn't sit now, I just wanted to see Elizabeth, "So, uh, you're Elizabeth Gallagher?"

"Elizabeth is my daughter. People call me Liz," the older woman smiled, "That's why she's so hell bent on everyone calling her Elizabeth. She doesn't want to be mistaken for me."

"Why did you name your daughter after you?" Jim had never heard of that before. Sons are named after their dads, but never daughters after their mothers.

"We wanted to try something new. It seemed so modern at the time," Liz chuckled, "It was between that and Jackie, you know after Mrs. Kennedy."

Suddenly the door on the other side of the room opens up and three kids run through and fly up the stairs. They looked a lot younger and were laughing and chasing each other. Behind them was an older looking man. He must've been Elizabeth's father.

"Jeff," Liz smiled at the older man, "Jimmy's here!"

Jeff walked over to his wife and me. I didn't know what he would do. Elizabeth probably told him what happened between us. I was relieved and surprised to see he put his hand out, for me to shake it. I shook it and gave him a smile.

"It's nice to meet you sir," I told him.

"Call me Jeff," he said.

Wow, these people really are flower children. From their looks, to their home, everything about them screamed hippie.

"You have a lovely home," I tell them, "Can I speak to Elizabeth?"

"Thank you," Liz smiled, "And Elizabeth isn't here now."

"Do you know when she'll be coming back?" I'm hoping very soon.

"No," she shook her head and kept the same smile as before. They were very nonchalant about everything, which made me a little unnerved.

"Uh, okay," I don't really know what to say. I look around the room again.

Jeff notices me doing this, "You're a little surprised aren't you? Elizabeth never really told you about all of this?"

"No, I'm sorry," I shake my head.

"Elizabeth and her older brother, David, they were both so different than the rest of us. They're our two oldest kids and I had them years apart, but after Elizabeth was born the kids just started walking out," Liz joked, then went back to her story, "I suppose that Elizabeth was burdened by it. It's harder being the older sibling, having to be a good role model and we always had out hands full with younger children, so they felt abandoned in a way. Is abandoned a good word?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth's father nodded, "Our little Elizabeth was always a drama queen. You know that we had almost no communication with her for a year. She was so angry at us. She probably still is. Healing is a long process especially with family members."

I took this all in. Elizabeth never talked too much about her family with me. I never really understood why until now. She felt abandoned by her own family. Elizabeth wanted them to be there for her, and they weren't. But what made her not talk to them completely?

"Why did she stop talking to you?" I asked.  
"What made her not talk to us for so long was that we promised to visit her out in Minnesota, but it never happened," Liz explained, "She thought we didn't care, so she stopped talking to us completely."

"She was very lonely when she first came out. She and her coach have had a pretty turbulent relationship. She felt us not coming out to see her was another person leaving her. For so long, she had no one out there that she could confide in besides her older brother," Jeff added, "And once they stopped talking, she started confining in you."

I let out a small smile. I was one of her most trusted people. I kind of knew that when we were together, but not the extent of it. I feel horrible now. She tried letting me in as much as she could, and I blew it off.

My bad thoughts were lifted by the fact that her parents knew about this, which means she must've talked to them. It was good for her to talk to somebody. I wish she talked to me more about this. Why didn't she let me all the way in?

"Do you know where Elizabeth is now?" I question, I can that myself when I see her, "Or when will she be back?"

"I think she's at her old rink," Liz answered, "I don't know when she'll be back though."

"Where is the rink?" I ask. I'll go over and see her myself.

"It's not too far from here…" Jeff told me.

He proceeded to give me the address and walking directions. It wasn't a very long walk. My legs, however, were pretty beat. But I can sit when I see Elizabeth. I couldn't rest until I found her. I didn't have that much time.

I thank Elizabeth's parents and they walked me out the door. I begin going down the stairs when I hear a voice call out my name. I turn around to see what it was all about.

"Don't hurt Elizabeth again," the boy who opened the door for me reappeared.

"I'm not going to," I told him, "You don't need to worry about that…"

"Actually, I do. She raised me. I don't want you to hurt her again," he told me before going back into the house.

I take a deep breath. Did that really just happen? Elizabeth's parents are so different from her. Apparently she had a lot of responsibilities growing up, taking care of her younger siblings. Maybe that was why she was immature at times, because she never really had a growing up process. She just had to mature from an early age. Maybe she was angry with her parents about that too. I can ask her about that when I see her.

My walk to the rink isn't very long. Only twenty minutes. It should have been ten, but I went right instead of left at a street corner and got a little lost. I arrive at the rink, and see a bunch of small girls on the ice. They didn't look to be more than six or seven. Elizabeth must've first learned to skate here.

I look around and see an older man standing off the ice, looking on. I figure he's a coach to one of the girls. Maybe he knows Elizabeth too! I walk over to talk to him.

"Excuse me," I begin once I approach the man, he looks up at me "Do you by any chance know Elizabeth Gallagher?"

"Elizabeth Gallagher?" the man smiled, "Yes, I do. I was her first coach!"

I sigh in relief. Elizabeth is probably here then. The guy sticks his hand out for me to shake. His name is Tom. I introduce myself to him.

"It's nice to meet you, Jim," he tells me, "Are you looking for Elizabeth?"

"Yes," I nod enthusiastically.

"I'm sorry," he shook his head, "You just missed her. I think she left about an hour ago."

"Damn," I mutter to myself.

"Sorry," Tom apologized to me again.

"Is she, uh, alright?" I ask. What caused her to come to San Francisco in the first place was the ice skating competition. She probably talked about it with him.

"She's doing better than before," Tom tells me, "It's just really tough for her. Ever since she started out, people doubted her abilities. Her parents didn't come to a lot of competitions so she didn't get a lot of support during her early competitions that other girls had. Elizabeth has carried that over into adult competitions too. When a bad review comes out about her performance, she tries so hard to prove them wrong. No one thought that she was going to make it to the Olympics and they turned out to be right. That's what really devastated her, that she thought she could prove them wrong and couldn't."

I think back to the last fight we have. I told her that she didn't work hard enough, that she wasn't trying her best. I am mentally kicking myself now. I'm such an idiot. But then again, why didn't she tell me about this part of her life either. Why was she hiding everything from me?

"She's a pretty good skater. Has this beautiful classical form," Tom continued, "She just needs to stop listening to others and follow her gut."

"Wow," I finally mutter. I really don't know what else to say. Why didn't she tell me all of this?

"Yeah. I mean, when she got asked by her coach Elaine to move to Minnesota, she was really shocked. She thought she finally had her big chance. Elizabeth is a sensitive girl. Elaine was her opportunity of a lifetime, but sometimes, I feel like it was a tough life for her. Elaine doesn't fully understand Elizabeth like us out here did," Tom explained.

"Elaine and Elizabeth don't always get along," I nod in agreement.

Tom took a deep breath and looked me up and down. I don't know why. Maybe Elizabeth told him about me too. That would make sense; why else would he talk about something that we fought about.

"You should try Pizza Palace, over on Eighteenth Street. One of her best friends, Nancy, works there," Tom suggested.

"Thank you," I smile gratefully.

Tom gives me the walking directions; luckily this place wasn't too far away either. I wish I had more money to afford cabs, but I spent most of my money on the plane ticket here and back. I don't know the public transit systems at all here, so I won't take them in fear of getting lost. The only line I know about is from Potrero Hill to SFO.

The walk is kind of longer than I thought; a good half an hour. I walk past the street where Elizabeth's house is. I contemplate going back up the hill to see if she's home but I'll do that if she isn't at the pizza place.

I arrive at Pizza Palace and see a teenaged girl working the cash register. I approach her. She has a name tag reading 'Nancy'. Perfect, just who I needed to talk to.

"Hi," I greet her, "Do you know Elizabeth Gallagher?"

The blonde teenager gave me a look. She had an attitude. The girl looked him up and down.

"Why do you wanna know?" she shrugged.

"I'm Jimmy. I'm looking for her. I really need to find her because…" she cuts me off.

"So you're Jimmy. Jimmy Craig?" the girl asked, then she scoffed, "From you're reputation I thought you'd be taller."

I put my hands in my pockets and shyly look away for a moment. I don't know what she meant by that, but I kind of didn't want to either.

"Do you know where she is?" I ask her again.

Nancy nods, "We need to talk."

The girl leaves from behind the counter. She yelled to her boss that she's taking her fifteen minute break. Nancy then leads me outside. I'm hoping to have this conversation at one of the empty tables inside. I was exhausted. I thought at this point, that my legs would fall off my body. We stand outside the pizza place and she lights up a cigarette. She offers me one and I shake my head.

"I wanna thank you," she tells me to my surprise.

From the attitude she gave me inside the shop, I thought she was going to cuss me out. Was she being serious right now?

"For what?" I question hesitantly.

"Elizabeth," she sighs, "It's hard for her, letting people in."

"I've heard that," I sigh, thinking about my talks today with people. She certainly didn't let me in.

"No, I'm serious," Nancy insisted, "Elizabeth was the type of person that would never let you all the way in. She never told one person everything, only a small amount of people got pieces. I'm one of her best friends and I could never solve her puzzle."

"Why are you thanking me?" I give her a small and confused smile.

"Because you changed her," she tells me, "She's more talkative now than before. She lets people in. I think she trusts them. She told me about you…all about you."

I'm taken aback by the last comment. Does Nancy know everything? Including about their sex life. I know I talk with the guys. Did girls really do the same?

"Everything?" I chuckle nervously.

"Yes," Nancy nods her head and laughs, "She felt bad about not being good in the sack…"

I think back to the time in the motel when I talked about that with the guys. I didn't think I was obvious in not being satisfied. Maybe I wasn't that good of an actor.

"Oh," now this conversation got really weird for me.

I could Nancy sensed that too, so she switched topics, "So seriously. Thank you. You really have been a good influence on her."

I didn't think I was. She didn't let me in. If I was such a good influence, why didn't she tell me anything that I learned about her today?

"Do you know where she is now?" I get to what I really wanted to talk about that.

"Yeah, about that…." When Nancy said that, I knew she wasn't there, "That's the real reason I brought you out here. I didn't want you to react in front of the customers…"

"Is she alright?" I become really worried. Nancy's tone didn't seem very positive.

"Uhm, well, she told me about your breakup and how you got into a fight because she wanted to tell you an Elaine story," Nancy began.

"Yeah, go on," I nod in encouragement. That really did happen. Out of everything she talked about in her personal life, the person she told me about the most was Elaine.

"Well," Nancy chuckles uncomfortably, "She wanted to tell you something that Elaine did. Uh, earlier that day she, uh, walked into her room and found Elaine stealing her birth control."

"So?" I wonder aloud. Was she taking them away? Elizabeth was eighteen; she didn't need Elaine's permission for them.

"No, uh, she was physically taking them. She stole Elizabeth's pills and replaced them with Tic-Tacs. They got in a big fight about it. She had been doing it for about two months," Nancy told me.

"Wait…what?" I almost lose my breath.

"You guys have been having unprotected sex," Nancy tells me gently, "Elizabeth might be pregnant."

My heart skipped a beat. I felt like throwing up. That couldn't happen. She was lying. It couldn't be true. Elizabeth wasn't pregnant. She couldn't be. That would mean I was the father. I can't take care of a kid! I can't take care of myself!

"Has she gotten a test?" I ask frantically.

"She did a few days ago. She's at Planned Parenthood now finding out," Nancy tells me.

All my exhaustion from before ended the moment Nancy told me that Elizabeth might be pregnant. With my new boost of energy, I begin running. I remember walking by a street that had a sign for Planned Parenthood.

I'm sprinting. My body is dead but I can't stop running. I figure the faster I get there, the faster I find out the news. I can't be a father. Why the hell would she keep this from me? Even if we were fighting, she should've told me! Was this the real reason she didn't place in the top three at Nationals?

Before I know it, I'm at Planned Parenthood. I made it in record time. I burst through the doors. The people in the lobby must've been thinking that I was being foolish, but I didn't care. I needed to know. I needed to see Elizabeth.

I walk up to the receptionist. One of the doctors is there talking with her. I stand at the front desk, gasping for air. My legs are seriously dead right now and I feel like I can't catch my breath. Moments like these make me happy I'm a goalie. I feel like I understand the pain of being a defenseman, who has the most ice-time and least amount of breaks. No wonder why OC complained so much!

"Is Elizabeth Gallagher here?" I ask, still trying to breath at a normal rate.

My heart is pounding from my run and the nervousness of the idea that my girlfriend, well ex-girlfriend, could be pregnant. I look at the doctor and nurse with a panicked expression.

"She already left," the doctor told me.

"Is she pregnant?" I ask, quickly. I need to know now.

"I'm not at liberty to…" I normally don't cut people off, but I didn't have time or the nerves to be polite.

"I'd be the father!" I tell him, "Please, just tell me!"

The doctor takes a deep breath and rolls his eyes. He shakes his head.

"Her test was negative," he tells me.

I sigh in relief. My heart beat goes slower. I feel the weight of the world being lifted from my shoulders. This was the greatest thing I've heard all day. My mind becomes a little more at ease.

"Thank you," I grin and sigh in relief again, "Do you know where she went?"

"No," he said unenthused.

I shouldn't have pressed my luck like that. Why would he know where she was? I was so relieved that I got the good news from him that I didn't care that he didn't know. I walk out of Planned Parenthood with a big smile. I look both directions and realized I didn't know where I was going. Everyone up to this point has told me where Elizabeth was heading next. I was at a dead end.

I figure Nancy might have some idea. I begin walking back to the Pizza Palace. I was walking at a leisurely pace this time around. My legs were already dead, I couldn't even think about running again.

It takes me twenty minutes to get to Pizza Palace. I open the door and see Nancy is no longer at the register. She's probably in the back. I walk up to the teenager behind the register and ask for Nancy.

"Sorry, she just got off for the night," he tells me, "Can I help you with anything else?"

"What?" I stutter.

Another dead end, shit. I hear my stomach grumbling. I'm starving. With all the excitement from today, I realize I haven't eaten since I've landed in San Francisco.

"I'll have two slices of cheese, to go," I order. I could afford some food, but I can't afford to sit here. I have to go back to Elizabeth's house. She's probably there. I don't have a lot of time. It's almost five and my flight takes off at seven. I've spent the whole day searching for her.

I take the pizza and eat it as I walk. I remember when I first came her that I passed by her street. By now my pizza is gone so I throw out the greasy paper plate it was on. I go up that way again and climb the hill to her house. Then I go up all the steps. I don't lose track this time, there are forty-one in total. I knock on the door and wait for a response. Liz, her mother, opens the door and gives me a sympathetic look. Before I could say anything, she speaks.

"I'm so sorry, Jim," she shakes her head sadly; "She's gone. You just missed her."

"Do you know where she's going?" I ask, hoping to catch up to her walking or at her next destination. I've been doing it all day; it was becoming a ritual by now.

"She took her bag," Liz tells me, "I don't know where she's going. She told me she would call when she gets there. My guess is she's taking a road trip to San Diego. She's always wanted to go."

Elizabeth was gone. My heart sank. It couldn't be true. I wasted all of today, for nothing. My physical exhaustion was catching up to me now. I was becoming emotionally tired as well. An entire day, all that money for plane tickets, all that walking and running and talking; it was all for nothing.

"Oh," I can't speak anymore.

I turn around and go down the steps. I can't even function right now. This was real, it was happening. Liz called out to me, saying she was sorry. I didn't respond back. I look down as I walk, physically and emotionally trying to push myself to take the next step. Right now, I feel like collapsing on the sidewalk because I was so exhausted. I couldn't do that though, I have a plane to catch.

I hop on to the trolley that would take me back to the airport. Again, all the seats are full so I am forced to stand. The trolley takes longer to get to the airport because we are stuck in rush-hour traffic. I have nothing to do but reflect on my day. My worthless, stupid, waste of time, money and energy day.

I realized today that Elizabeth hadn't been very honest and open to me throughout our relationship. She didn't open up to me about her family, skating fears, and how hard it was for her to let people in. Nancy said I changed something in her. I don't see that because she never let me in.

I feel like shit because I told her everything. I told her about my mom's cancer and how I felt when I lost her. That was the toughest time in my whole life. And she listened to it all and gave me advice. She comforted me about it. Why wouldn't she talk to me about her problems if she was so open about hearing mine?

Holy shit, I just figure something out. She told me about her problems with Elaine and I didn't want to hear them. They were her only issues she told me about for a reason. She wanted to protect me from her own problems, so she could help me with mine.

It all made sense now. Nancy said that Elizabeth was like a puzzle. Today, going from place to place, I learned a new thing about Elizabeth. I got a new piece of the puzzle. She wasn't purposely trying to not tell me stuff; she was just deeply hurt, so much so that she didn't even want to confront herself about it.

The worst thing about today is that I don't hate Elizabeth for not telling me. I want to know more. I want to see her. I really miss her. Before when I said I loved her, I didn't fully mean it because I didn't know who she was. Now, after learning more about Elizabeth and her complicated puzzle, I still don't hate her. I love her. I'm actually in love with her.

Love is never easy; it's something you have to fight for. I want to fight for Elizabeth. All I wanted to do today was to see her, to make sure she was okay and to get her to come home. I failed and that's killing me. I wish I just had more time to find her. I need to tell her that I love her and I mean it this time. I want to comfort her about all her insecurities and problems at home. She raised her younger siblings; she tried so hard at skating, she was nervous to let anyone all the way in. I want to be that person she confides in, not just about Elaine but about everything.

The trolley suddenly stops. I've arrived at the airport now. I'm snapped back into reality. Yes, I love Elizabeth and I'm so happy to have realized it now. But I'm bummed out. I didn't see her today and I realized that I loved her when I was too late. She's going down to a road trip to San Diego. I might never see her again.

I walk through security at the airport and show them my ticket. It's pretty easy for me to get through because I have no bags. My day trip is over. I walk through the terminal with my head down. I failed with Elizabeth. The only thing I had to look forward to was I was finally able to sit down. I hadn't sat down since my plane ride over here. My legs were numb.

I arrive at my gate and look up to find a place to sit down and finally rest. I scan the seats and suddenly my eyes stop and my heart skip a beat. It was her. She was sitting in front of me, also waiting at the same gate for a plane back to Minnesota.

"Elizabeth," I stutter. I can't believe it.

She was curled up on a chair reading a book, and she looked up. It was definitely her. She saw me and gasped. Her parents must've not told her that I had come out. She quickly stands up.

"Jim," she looks surprised and sad.

We were now standing only a foot away from each other. Overcome with emotions, I reach out and pull her into a huge hug. I was squeezing her so tight. I felt her hugging me back. Her head was nuzzling my neck and my face was on her forehead. I breathed in, smelling the shampoo that she always used. A familiar smell that I had missed.

"I am so sorry," I heard her whisper.

"Don't be," I tell her, "I love you. I mean it this time."

I keep squeezing her tight. I feel her tears on my neck. I take a deep breath and realize that I was beginning to cry too. I haven't cried since my mom died. These weren't tears of sadness; these were of relief and happiness.

I release for a moment and sit down where she was sitting. She then sits on my lap and nuzzles into my neck once again. I continue to hold onto her tight. I was finally sitting, I could finally rest. The entire day I didn't rest until I found Elizabeth, and now here we were at SFO. I was finally able to rest for the first time all day, with my girl in my arms. All the drama and exhaustion from today was forgotten about with this moment. This day wasn't a waste because of this moment. We didn't talk because we didn't have to. Right here, right now, it was perfect.

**Please review! Here are some previews for next chapter:**

"**Do you like anyone right now?"**

…

"**Get off my boyfriend!"**

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"**Believe me; I don't give a fuck about your feelings!"**

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"**I'm not a very good person…"**

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"**You're really drunk right now. Just don't do anything you'll regret."**

"**I already have…"**


	38. The Chain

**AN: Hello, remember this story? I didn't forget! I promise! This summer was a lot busier than I had anticipated. I had two jobs and I didn't have a life. I would work 16 hour days then come home and go to sleep. It was the worst. The only good thing is that I got a lot of money and I lost some weight because I was too tired to eat and would just pass out. Anyways after finishing up both my jobs, my little vacation was cut short by Hurricane Irene. So I go home and lived through the hurricane. A tree fell on my house. Perfect way to end a perfect summer. Anyways, moral of the story is that I'm back and hopefully I still have people that read this story. If you read it at all please review, show me that you still care because I'm not writing this story for me. This is for you and I need to know that you amazing people are still here!**

**Now on to the chapter…**

**Chapter 38**

Pav stepped out of his room and quietly closed the door. He kept it unlocked so he didn't need to keep it a little open. He had to close the door quietly anyways, because a hot girl was sleeping in his bed. He couldn't believe after all this time he finally slept with her!

The hockey player walked down the hallway, trying to think of everything that happened in the past day. Everything was going smoothly until the party. That's when shit hit the fan. Pav thought of his RA, Mallory. He actually felt kind of bad for her. It wasn't her fault about what happened. Pav made a mental note to himself to talk to her later, most likely after everyone slept off their inevitable hangovers.

The hockey player made his way down the hall, making a bee-line to the bathroom. Everyone else fell asleep in their beds, or someone else's, or they had passed out somewhere. Pav was the only one up and in the hallway.

Suddenly, Pav heard the noise of a door opening from down the hall. He couldn't quite make out who it was or whose door it was coming from. Walking closer, Pav could see one of his teammates walking quietly across the hallway. But he wasn't leaving his own room in the middle of the night; he was tiptoeing out of Mallory's. Still unsure of which teammate it was, Pav walked a little closer and squinted his eyes. The other guy turned his head and saw Pav, allowing the tired hockey player to see who it was.

"Holy shit!" Pav exclaimed to himself.

**12 Hours Earlier…**

"Thanks for driving me home, Jim," Elizabeth smiled.

"Anytime," Jim nodded, "Are you ready to face everything?"

Elizabeth paused for a moment and took a deep breath. She knew she wasn't ready, but she would have to face everything eventually. After Elizabeth and Jim returned to Minnesota together, she spent a few days with him in the dorms. She wanted to spend time with him and Mallory, but she also didn't want to go home. Elizabeth and her coach, Elaine, had a big blow up after Nationals, which ended with Elizabeth running away to San Francisco. The ice skater knew this was going to be tough.

"Yeah," Elizabeth nervously bit her bottom lip, "I'll call you later tonight."

The brunette opened her door and started getting out when Jim put his hand on her arm, holding her back.

"Don't you want me to come in with you?" he was confused.

Elizabeth shook her head and shrugged, "It would be best if you didn't."

Elizabeth didn't want Jim to see this. She honestly didn't know what would happen. Jim had this different perspective of Elaine. He saw her as someone who cared about Elizabeth, which was true to an extent. But Jim didn't know the whole story. Sometimes things were really bad between them. Elizabeth tried to explain it to Jim, but he would just never get it. The ice skater figured it would be best if her boyfriend remained blissfully uninformed.

The brunette leaned back into the car and kissed her boyfriend softly on the lips. She then rested her forehead against his and looked him in the eyes.

"I'll see you later," she gave a crooked smile.

Elizabeth then got out of the car and grabbed her suitcase from the back seat. As Jim drove away, Elizabeth looked up at the house. This was partly her home too, she shouldn't be so nervous. She walked up the path and the few small steps. Elizabeth was about to reach into her purse to get her key when she realized she didn't have it.

"Shit," she groaned. She probably forgot it at the dorms. She would have to go back and get it later.

Elizabeth rang the doorbell. Elaine should be home, her car was in the driveway. So was Elaine's boyfriend's car. After a few seconds, the door opened. It was Elaine. Elizabeth gave a blank expression and Elaine, too, gave a similar ambiguous look. Neither knew what the other was thinking.

Jim drove to the end of Elizabeth's street when he noticed that his girlfriend forgot her purse in his car. As soon as the goalie was able to, he turned around and went back to Elizabeth's coach's house. The front door was open, Elizabeth was already inside. Jim hopped out of the car and walked to the front door with Elizabeth's purse in hand. He knocked lightly but there was no answer. He waited a few moments before he rang the doorbell. Still no answer. The door was wide open and the goalie reluctantly let himself in. As soon as he walked in he heard voices.

"Hello?" he called out.

He felt really uncomfortable about going into someone else's' home like this. But people were obviously home, the door was open and there were voices. Jim stayed quiet for a moment and put the purse on the hallway table.

"YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE A COMPETITION AND NOT TELL ME WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" he heard a voice yell. It sounded a lot like her coach's.

"Oh please, you weren't going to be there for me. You never have been, never will be," he heard his girlfriend's familiar voice.

Jim walked further and further into the home and saw the two women fighting in the kitchen. Another man was there too, who Jim assumed with Elaine's boyfriend. No one really noticed Jim was there.

"Blowing a competition because of a boyfriend is weak," Elaine told her, "I thought you knew that."

"I didn't blow the competition on purpose," Elizabeth shook her head.

"Than I guess you were just never good enough," Elaine sighed.

Elizabeth looked down and didn't notice Jim stepping further into the kitchen. She didn't realize he was even there until he spoke up.

"Don't talk to her that way!" Jim defended his girlfriend.

He was stunned that Elaine said that. He remembered when they first started going out and how protective Elaine was. She referred to Elizabeth as her kid. Elizabeth always told Jimmy that Elaine was different than what he thought, how she wasn't always there for Elizabeth when needed. Jim never really believed Elizabeth until that very moment.

Before Elaine could say anything else, her boyfriend spoke up. He had a pack of cigarettes in his hand and looked mad. Jim remembered that Elizabeth never really liked him.

"She isn't good enough because she's too busy smoking," he threw the cigarette box at Elizabeth. It was so fast that Elizabeth tried catching it but missed and it dropped on the ground, "I found them hidden. I assume they're yours!"

"Elaine smokes too!" Elizabeth exclaimed pointing at her coach, "She blames it on me all the time!"

"Don't throw anything at her," Jim moved himself between Elizabeth and Elaine's boyfriend. He gave him a stare down for a moment.

Elizabeth felt Jim's hand touching her arm and saw him turn around. He looked at her and asked her if she was okay, "Let's just get out of here. Grab your stuff. You're staying with me."

Still having a hold on Elizabeth's arm, Jimmy lead his girlfriend out of the kitchen. Elizabeth picked up her stuff and Jim picked up her purse from the table. The couple walked out quickly, the only sound being heard was the sound of Elaine's toddler son crying in the background. Once they reached back to Jim's car, Jim began driving and nothing was said for a few minutes. When they reached a red light, the ice skater broke the silence.

"I'm really sorry you had to see that," Elizabeth finally spoke up. She spoke very softly and looked away from her boyfriend.

Jim looked at her and sighed. He felt really bad. She tried telling him about her home situation sooner, he just never really understood until now. It wasn't like a physically abusive place, but it was just an unhealthy environment. He put his hand on top of hers.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," he rubbed her hand with his thumb.

When Jimmy and Elizabeth arrived back to the dorms, they walked in hand in hand with Jimmy carrying Elizabeth's suitcase. They arrived to Jim's floor and it looked exactly how they left it before, with doors open, people talking and getting excited for the end of semester. While walking down the hallway towards the goalie's room, Jim saw a face on the floor that he thought he'd never see again.

"Heather?" Jim hadn't seen the blonde ex-hallmate for months.

"Hey, Jim," she smiled, "How's the team?"

"Great," he answered, "What are you doing here? Visiting Mal?"

"No," the pretty blonde smiled, "I'm actually seeing Katie. We're planning out Mallory's surprise going away party."

"Oh," Jim didn't know Katie and Heather even knew each other. He wasn't one to keep up to date with all that stuff.

"The party's tonight, right?" Elizabeth asked. Everyone had heard about the party and Elizabeth was pretty sure it was tonight, she was just checking.

"Yep," Heather answered, "You both better be there!"

Heather walked away from the couple and walked down the hall. She was looking for Katie's room, but was stopped when she heard some familiar voices call out to her.

"Hey, Blondie," the girl heard the nickname that OC had given her.

She stopped in her tracks and outside the door of OC and Rizzo's room. The door was open and they were both hanging out in their room. Heather grinned and went in. OC stood up and gave her a hug. They always had a flirty thing going on but nothing really happened there because she had a boyfriend and then had a one night thing with Mac, while OC was pursuing Mallory at that time.

"Hey Jack, hey Riz," she smiled and greeted both of them, "How are you? Excited for the holidays?"

"Yeah," Rizzo nodded, "We get to go home."

"That's awesome," Heather nodded, "So, OC how are things with you and Mal? Is she going to go home with you? When I moved out things were getting pretty hot and heavy with you guys."

"Excuse me?" a voice interrupted their conversation.

Jack looked up from Heather and his complexion turned pale. Rizzo's jaw dropped a little and Heather turned around. She saw two pretty women: a blonde and brunette. She had never seen them before. She raised her eyebrow. There was a really awkward silence and nobody knew what to say.

"These are our girlfriends," Rizzo tried to ease the tension, "Donna and Jessica. They're visiting us for a few days."

"Hi," Heather said quietly.

OC swallowed some air. Heather had always been a dummy, but this wasn't her fault. She didn't know that his girlfriend was going to be there and he didn't know that the two girls would return from the bathroom so quickly.

"I should get going to Katie's room," Heather breathed, before beginning to walk away and as she walked out of the room she called out, "I guess I'll see you guys later at the floor party."

The blonde left the four BU students in the room. They were all just looking at each other unsure of what to say. OC shook his head, silently kicking himself. Damn it, he was so close to Jessica never finding out.

"Donna, wanna go out to eat or something?" Rizzo suggested.

"Love to," Donna nodded.

The engaged couple quickly exited, leaving Jessica and OC time to talk. Jessica crossed her arms across her chest and shook her head. Boy, did he have a lot of explaining to do.

….

A few hours later and the party was in full motion. Mallory looked very surprised when she walked into the floor's common room to find all her current hall mates and some past ones come and bid her farewell and good luck. In a glimpse of vulnerability a few people could see that she looked a little touched.

"I knew there was a party being planned," she joked to Pav in secrecy a while after the party began when they were both standing by the keg.

"What? How?" Pav was stunned. Her face looked so genuine.

"I heard you're little girlfriend talk about it in the hallway with Elizabeth and Jim," she explained.

"What little girlfriend?" Pav raised an eyebrow as he sipped his red cup full of beer.

"Heather," the blonde girl nodded.

"Nah," Pav chuckled and shook his head, "Nothing happened between the two of us."

"No. But I know you wanted things to," the RA smiled, then nodded towards Heather, "You should go for it, man."

"I don't know if I…" Pav was interrupted by Mallory.

"Come on, hun, man up!" Mallory exclaimed seriously.

Pav chuckled and shook his head before walking away towards Heather's direction. Mallory looked on and smiled. She was hoping the next time she talked to Pav would be after he hooked up with the hot blonde.

Looking away from Pav and Heather's direction, Mallory's eyes turned towards Jessica. Mallory was taken aback for a moment. Jessica looked like she was giving the RA a nasty look, almost like the stink eye. Mallory was confused. She had no idea what that was about. Maybe it was all inside her head. Mallory sipped her beer and looked away from Jack's girlfriend only to see him and Rizzo approach the keg.

"Hey, OC," Mallory nodded, "Is your girl giving me the stink eye?"

"What? No!" OC tried laughing it off. Mallory remained unconvinced. She raised her eyebrow at him.

Before Mallory could inquire anymore, a female body came in between Jack and the RA. She wrapped her arm around OC's waist and turned to Mallory. It was Jessica again.

"Come on, babe. Let's get out of here," she said to OC as she still gave Mallory the stink eye.

"Alright," OC sighed, before walking off with Jess.

Mallory's heart skipped a beat. Jessica didn't need to tell her anything verbally. She just knew. That look, the body language with OC. His girlfriend knew about what happened. Mallory closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Fuck," she mumbled to herself, then slowly looked up to Rizzo to confirm it, "She knows about me and OC, right?"

Rizzo looked down and nodded. He sighed then looked up at Mallory. He gave her a sympathetic look. He knew that she didn't want the girlfriend to know about what happened. Mallory always blamed herself for that whole situation, but Rizzo knew better. He told her how Heather accidentally spilled the beans and the RA just stood emotionless. Mallory just wanted to move on and forget about that drama from months before. But tonight, on the night of her goodbye party, it was all coming back.

"I wanted to thank you. Ya know, for not telling anyone about what happened with us," he gave her a small smile and patted her shoulder.

Mallory shook her head and moved her body away so he wouldn't be touching her anymore. She gave him a dirty look. Now she had to avoid Jessica and OC to not deal with that shit, she didn't want to be reminded of another stupid mistake she made earlier this year.

"I didn't tell anyone to help _you_ out," she said coolly and quietly, with some anger built up, "I only didn't say anything because I didn't want people to think I was a home wrecker because you're engaged!"

The blonde RA began walking away from Rizzo when a familiar song began playing in the background. It was Carl Carlton's 'Everlasting Love'. That was the same song that Rizzo and Mallory danced to when they all went to the disco all those months ago. It was right after the guys moved in and Mallory was at her friend's bachelorette party. She slept with Rizzo at that same friend's wedding.

A few of the guys on the team began cheering. They all saw them dancing and getting into it that night at the club. They clapped and shouted and cleared the center of the room. They were urging them to dance like they did at the club.

"Come on guys!" Phil laughed, "For old time's sake!"

Rizzo looked up at Mallory and she slowly turned her face to look at him. He saw the pain in her eyes for a brief moment. He knew she didn't want this. Before Rizzo could tell the guys to stop, he saw Mallory close her eyes for a moment and she took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she gave a small and reluctant smile.

The blonde walked over to Rizzo and grabbed his hand. She led him out to the dance floor and began moving her body to the music, exactly what she did at the club. Rizzo, too, began reluctantly dancing to the music. Their bodies were extremely close, grinding up against each other much to the cheers and claps to everyone at the party.

"Why are you doing this?" he whispered in her ear when their faces were close enough.

"I'm used to putting on a face," she replied coolly.

The two's faces separated a little and they kept dancing to the song. It was a pretty upbeat song and they were somewhat getting into it, until they were interrupted.

"GET OFF MY BOYFRIEND!"

The music suddenly died and the pair stopped dancing. Everyone looked to the direction of the shouting and saw Donna standing there. She had an angry look on her face. Mallory heard Phil mutter something about her coming back from the bathroom. Donna stormed out again and Rizzo followed behind her.

"Donna, come on!" he groaned as he chased after his fiancé.

Mallory stood alone in the middle of the room for a second before shaking her head and walking away, back towards the keg. The party-goers said encouraging things to Mallory, trying to make her feel less embarrassed about what just happened. Mallory just shrugged and took more beer out of the keg.

To ease the tension of everything that just happened, Katie and Heather moved towards the center of the party, where Rizzo and Mallory just had their dance. They were both tipsy and giggly at this point. Katie held a piece of paper in her hand.

"Today we wrote a little song about the floor," she joked.

"And we matched it to the beat of 'Piano Man'," Heather winked at Pav when she said this.

David couldn't help but smile and look back at Mallory when Heather mentioned that song. They were no longer together, but the two would always share a bond. They had a lot in common with losing fathers in the War to small things like the type of music they liked. Silk smiled at her and she saw him. Instead of smiling back, she looked away. He figured she was still pretty upset about what just happened with Rizzo.

The two began singing the song, mentioning some girls on the floor in their rhyme. It amused everyone a lot. The two girls got really into it and were singing pretty loud.

"Mallory," Mark walked up to her during the song, "Are you alright?"

Mallory turned to the hockey player, but before she could answer she heard her name being called out in the song. She turned her attention towards the song and her mouth was slightly open, unsure of what they were going to say.

_Now Mal the RA, is a friend of mine_

_She gets me my weed for free_

_She's quick with a joke and she'll light up your smoke_

_But there's somewhere that she'd rather be!_

_She says "Katie, I believe this is killing me…"_

_As a smile ran away from her face_

"_Well I'm sure I'd be fucking an NHL star, if I could get out of this place…"_

The entire party gasped and cracked up. They clapped. Everyone knew about her relationships over the past few months. Mallory looked down for a moment and looked back up at Mark. Her face was emotionless.

"Do I look fuckin' alright?" she shrugged before walking past him and out the door of the common room.

The only one who noticed she left was Mark. He watched her go, but figured it would be better not to go after her. She looked like she really wanted to be alone right now. With his thoughts still on Mallory, he turned his head back towards the two drunk girls singing in the room and all this teammates laughing.

Meanwhile Mallory walked quickly out of the party. The blonde started feeling the effects of the alcohol she had earlier, but she didn't care. She just needed to get out of there. She remembered her RA friend Dan mentioning that there was a party in his room. She was going to check that out. Anything to get her mind off of everything that just went down at her own floor's party.

While walking down the hallway, she saw Donna and Rizzo arguing. She looked away and tried avoiding eye contact. She didn't want to be involved in anymore drama tonight. As she passed by, the blonde heard Donna speak up.

"You never danced with me!" she sounded angry, "Why her?"

Mallory walked away before hearing the answer to that question. She just walked as fast as possible, laughing to herself about how she wasn't going in a straight line. She was definitely not going to pass a sobriety test tonight.

…

Jim and Elizabeth excused themselves from the party when things began slowing down. After the dancing drama and the song, no one saw much of Mallory. She looked pretty embarrassed about everything, which made some people feel bad because it was supposed to be her going away party.

The couple laid on his bed in his dorm. Jim had his arm around her shoulder and she rested her head on his chest. He stroked her hair with his hand and just relaxed. To him, this felt so right. It was quiet for a few moments and they preferred it that way. They hadn't been happy and at peace like this in quite a long time. They were just enjoying the moment.

"I feel bad for Mallory," Elizabeth quietly spoke up.

Elizabeth had barely spoken to the RA at the party and felt a little guilty. She felt like Mallory had always been there for her, but she wasn't there to return the favor.

"I'll go talk to her tomorrow," Jim nodded. He and Mallory had become very close when bonding over their mothers' deaths. She helped Jim out a lot when it came to Elizabeth. In a lot of ways, Jim thought of Mallory as a sister. When all that drama happened to her tonight, he wanted to step in and try to help her but everything just happened so fast. By the time everything slowed down a bit, she was gone.

"I will too," Elizabeth replied.

Jim kissed her forehead and stopped playing with her hair. He sat up for a moment, causing Elizabeth to stir. She sat up too and gave him a confused look. He maneuvered his body and began looking in the drawer.

"You alright, babe?" she asked. For a moment she thought that he was looking for condoms but she knew he always kept them in the second drawer. He was looking in the first.

A couple seconds later, Jim let out an "Ah-ha!" and pulled something out of the drawer. Elizabeth couldn't see it and gave him the same confused look as before. He closed the drawer and turned his body to face his girlfriend. He had something in his hand that she couldn't see.

"Elizabeth, you know I love you right?" he smiled at her.

"Yeah," Elizabeth nodded, "Of course. I love you too."

"I want you to stay here with me," he told her, "I don't want you going back to your coach. I want you to move in."

Jim then opened his hand and showed her a key. He had made her a copy while she was staying with him when they immediately got back from San Francisco. He made it just in case she wanted to come over anytime while living with Elaine. Now that was not the issue. He wanted her there all the time.

"Yes!" Elizabeth smiled and put her hands on her cheeks. She could feel herself blushing and face becoming warm, but she didn't care.

She leaned in and gave him a big kiss on the lips. She pulled him down so he was on top of her and the kiss became much more heated and passionate. Jim put the key on the drawer and reached in for the second drawer. She gave him a smile and began kissing him again, nibbling on his lips as he reached for the box of condoms.

A big issue that caused the break up with Elizabeth and Jim was that Jim didn't know if he loved Elizabeth. He claimed he did and she lost her virginity to him, but when she figured out that he may have not meant it she freaked out. Now they were back together and after that separation, they knew that they loved each other. Jim really missed Elizabeth a lot when she was gone. He was worried about her, that's when he realized he loved her. To both of them, this wasn't just sex anymore. They were making love, and it was the best sex that either of them ever had.

...

After the party winded down, Mac fell asleep in the comfort of his own bed alone. Mark had passed out on his bed too. The Minnesotan was always a light sleeper and was roused awake when he heard noises outside his door. He heard the door knob being pulled at and someone trying to put their key in. Both Mac and Mark were in for the night, so Mac had no idea who it could be.

Curious, the hockey player stood up and opened the door. He closed his eyes at first, trying to adjust himself to the light of the hallway. When he opened them, he immediately recognized the face staring back at him.

"Mal," he yawned, a little confused, "What are you doing here?"

The girl squinted at him and put her hands on her head. She shook it and looked around for a moment.

"Where's my room?" she whispered, "Don't I live here?"

Mac let out a deep breath and rested his hand on his forehead for a moment before moving it down his whole face. It woke him up.

Mac sighed, "Come on, Mal."

Mac unlocked his door from within then left his room. He closed the door behind him and took Mallory's hand. He walked the few steps to her door and took her little purse. He fiddled through it a moment before finding what he was looking for.

"Bingo!" he exclaimed as he held up the key.

He unlocked the door and opened it up. She just stood there. She had no idea where the fuck she was. She was already drunk when she left the party, who knows what the hell else she had. Mac sighed and shook his head.

"I never thought I'd be doing this again," he mumbled to himself as he took Mallory's hand and led her into her room.

Once she was inside, Mac closed the door. He hadn't done this since they dated. It was a year ago. Mac couldn't believe it's already been a whole year since they stopped hooking up. Mallory looked aimlessly around the room for a few seconds and suddenly took off for the bathroom. Mac saw her take a b-line and followed after her.

"I got ya, Mal," he sighed, never thinking he'd repeat those words again.

As soon as Mallory got to the bathroom, she got on her knees and began throwing up in the toilet. Mac held her hair back and turned his head away as he heard the sounds of her violently throwing up. He used his free arm to block his nose and face from the scene. After about a minute, the hockey player could no longer hear the sounds of his RA puking.

"Alright, we good now, Mal?" he shrugged, talking to her as if she was a kid. She wouldn't care, hell she probably wouldn't remember this.

"Yeah," she breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath, "Just give me a minute…"

A few moments later, Mallory stood up using her arms to help her. She flushed the toilet and turned the faucet in the sink on, cupping some water in her hand and washed her mouth out. Mac watched her with his arms crossed against his chest. She looked up at him with heavy eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sober now," she sighed, "Thanks for that."

"Anytime, Mal," he gave a small smile.

"Stay here," she nodded at him.

The blonde left the bathroom for a moment and Mac watched her fiddling around in her room. She was getting something under her bed. He saw her take out a container and open it, then she picked up a joint. She walked back to the bathroom with a half smile.

"I already got fucked up tonight," she began, "This will help the headache. You want in?"

Mallory already knew what his answer would be and she shut the door behind her. They smoked a lot together when they were together. Smoking sometimes made the sex even better. Some people talked about how smoking was bad for athletes and all that, but Mallory believed that was horseshit. This was the thing to do in the seventies, and Mallory wanted to take advantage of it all she could. It was the middle of December, in two weeks she would be living in a new decade and not even a college coed anymore.

About ten or fifteen minutes later, the hockey player and his RA got out of her bathroom. As Mac sat down on her bed and made himself comfortable, Mallory opened the windows so the smell would leave quicker. Before walking over to her bed, Mallory turned to her record player. She opened it and turned the record in it over to it's B side.

The blonde started the record player and went back to the bed. She laid down next to Mac, both using Mallory's husband pillow to keep them sitting up.

"This song describes my life," she giggled.

Mac heard a beat starting and he instantly recognized the song. It was Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain". He watched Mallory smile, relax and close her eyes as they listened to the first verse.

_Listen to the wind blow, watch the sun rise  
Run in the shadows  
Damn your love, damn your lies_

The blonde began singing along with the chorus. These lyrics held the most truth to her. It was like they described everything that's happened to her in the past few months, after meeting the guys and being with them in one way or another. Robbie, Mike, Jack, and David. Mallory had slept with four players on one team. She wanted to have sex with them, but deep down inside she wished that she could just turn the clock back.

_And if you don't love me now  
You will never love me again  
I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain_

"I'm sorry about everything that went down tonight with Jessica and Donna and everything," he gave his friend a sincere look.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She looked pretty upset and she needed a friend right now. Mac had grown close to her again and liked having her as a friend. After the Olympics and everything, he hoped to continue this friendship. They just had a lot in common and Mac felt like he understood her and vice versa.

Mallory took a deep breath and sighed, remembering the reason the little drinking binge began in the first place. She knew that he knew that this song was about that and her various relationships that were called out tonight.

"Ya know, Mark thinks I'm a good person," she gave Mac a sad look, "But I'm really not."

"Mal…" he tried but Mallory cut him off.

"I'm not," she shook her head, "I've used guys to try to forget about all the shit going on in my life. I used you when my mom was sick. I knew OC had that situation with Jessica but I pursued it anyways. And David I went out with because people knew about my mom and it just brought everything back. I just use people."

Mallory took a deep breath, thinking about Rizzo. She omitted him from that little speech, but she used him too. That day she felt awful because everyone said she looked like her mom and then her brother got into a fight with her about not telling people that their mom had passed away. She drank tequila and used Rizzo as an escape.

Mac didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth, trying to formulate a sentence, but Mallory put a finger on his mouth signaling for him to be quiet. She had more to say.

"And you know Patrick? My ex, the guy that proposed to me?" she sighed, shamefully looking away from her friend, "I led him on too. I was flirting with him that whole night and the whole night and the entire time I was wondering what move I would use that would make him want me back. I didn't even want to be with him…I just wanted to see if I still had that power over him, and I do. I'm a bad person, Robbie."

Mac took a deep breath, taking in everything she said. Mallory wasn't a bad person in his eyes. She was young and wanted to have fun. He hadn't exactly been a saint when it came to girls and Mallory was just the female version of himself. He used his hand and cupped Mallory's chin. He turned her face to look up at him.

"If it's any consolation," he gave her a small smile, "I don't think you're a bad person."

Mallory bit the bottom of her lip and smiled. She nodded. The blonde wanted to say a thank you but she was becoming inexplicably emotional right now. To Mac, the nod sufficed as a thank you. He knew what he did. He looked down at Mallory as she composed herself and switched topics slightly.

"This song is kind of true about today. Like everything happens for a reason. Today was just a chain of events leading up to this moment," Mallory sighed.

"How?" Mac was curious.

"Like if Jimmy and Elizabeth didn't walk down the hallway exactly when they did than they wouldn't have bumped into Heather. If they didn't talk to Heather than she would've talked to Rizzo and OC a few minutes earlier which means that she wouldn't have asked about me and OC right when Jessica walked in. Jess would have never of found out and tonight's shit show wouldn't have happened," the blonde explained, "Life's one long chain of events."

She believed in the idea that everything happens for a reason, karma and all that stuff. It was what kept her going when her mom got sick and eventually passed away. That was just the way Mallory saw the world.

"You're a philosophical high," Mac cracked up.

Mallory looked at him and bit the bottom of her lip, trying to hide her giggles, "Shut up!"

The song ended and the two friends sat in a comfortable silence for a moment. They were both still high and just wanted to relax. Mallory let her room and world spin around her. They both sat back on the bed, with Mac's arm around her shoulder and she resting her head against his.

"Have you been applying to jobs, since ya know, you're graduating next week?" Mac chuckled.

"Ahhh don't remind me!" she closed her eyes, "But yes, I have. I've applied to some jobs in the Twin Cities and to one in New York."

"New York City?" Mac raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah," she sighed, "But it's a long shot. I'm not gonna get it."

"You never know," he shrugged, trying to be optimistic for his friend. The economy sucked right now and a lot of people were out of work. It was a long shot but he wanted to act like everything was okay because he was talking to Mal.

"So what's been going on with you lately? Any girls I should know about?" Mallory asked her friend, changing the subject.

"Nah, not really. I've been so busy with the team," Mac nodded, "I mean, I think Katie's kind of cute but there's no point of doing anything now. We're going to be leaving in like a month and a half."

Mallory sat up out of Mac's arms and smiled at her friend, "You like Katie?" She was really pleased with this. The girl on her floor had actually asked Mallory personally about Mac. She thought that he was really cute and Mallory thought that Katie had developed a small crush.

"Go for it," Mallory insisted.

"But what if…"

"Just pursue it," Mallory gave a mischievous smile, and jokingly hit her friend's knee cap, "Trust me."

Mallory leaned back again against the husband pillow once again feeling relaxed. Mac sat silently for a moment, taking in Mallory's advice. What the hell did he have to lose? Might as well go for it before he lost his chance completely. He thanked Mallory but didn't hear a response back. Mac took a deep breath and thought back again to what Mallory said when she was saying she was a bad person. She said that Mark thought she was a good person. Why would she bring up Mark?

"Why did you bring up Mark?" Mac was curious, "Do you like him or something?"

Mac didn't hear an answer and he looked down at his friend. She had fallen asleep. He shook his head and sighed. He couldn't help but let out a small smile. Just when things were getting interesting, she falls asleep.

"Great timing, Mal, like always," he chuckled to himself.

Mac got off of Mallory's bed and gave her more room to sleep. He closed the windows and covered her up in a blanket. He put her trash can close to her bed, just in case she still had anything left in her stomach. He turned off the lights and quietly stepped out of her room.

Mac was walking the few feet back to his own room when he heard a guy's voice.

"Holy shit!"

The hockey player looked up and saw his teammate and friend, Pav. Still high as a kite he didn't really want to do anything more than fall asleep or lay down. He nodded at his friend and put his finger on his mouth, a quiet plea for his friend not to say anything. Before seeing a response from Pav, Mac opened his door and shut it. He was ready for some more sleep now.

**So, that was long, huh? I felt like you amazing readers deserved that. Tell me what you think or if you're still here, because I honestly want to know!**


	39. Bookends

**Lulu: Thanks for the review!**

**Peachy65: Thanks for reviewing! This chapter is going to have a lot of Mallory in it. I don't want to give too much away, but yeah it's interesting lol**

**Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: I'm glad you liked it! Yeah Mallory got the shit end of the stick, but she has more stuff she's getting involved in. And I'm glad you liked the Jim and Elizabeth. They have some moments in this chapter as well!**

**Jen: Thanks for your honest review. I actually completely agree with you. While writing I felt like I was going in circles at some points. Trust me when I tell you that I have a master plan for this whole story. I'm the mad scientist! Nothing is randomly put in. Everything will make sense eventually. And you'll be finding out a lot more about Mallory's character by the end of this chapter, and Elizabeth and Jim will be having future drama as well. I hope I don't lose you as a reader! Thanks for the review!**

**ashaloo155: Thanks for the review! I have a plan for Mallory, but I loved reading your prediction. And I love "The Chain"! It's honestly one of my favorite songs and it describes Mallory so well.**

**AN: Hello my lovely readers! Sorry for the long wait, this semester had been a little more grueling than I had anticipated. I finally decided that I need to write this chapter up this past Sunday when I spent 13 hours in the library. It was miserable and I came to the conclusion that I need some me time doing something I love, which is writing this story. Anyways, here it is. I feel like everything I've written so far has built up to this chapter and I won't lie; I actually got a bit emotional writing it. I've never cried while writing before so that was definitely a first. But enough talking, I really hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 39**

"Mallory played her music too loud today," Rizzo joked, "Like always."

"I thought she was packing all day today. I didn't think she had that much stuff," Silk said.

"Yeah that's because instead of packing Mal, me and a few other girls on the floor had a two- hour dance party before they left," Elizabeth laughed, "So she still has a long way to go."

It was a few days before Christmas and the guys were at a party hosted at Doc's house. It was a nice way to get everyone together before the holidays. They had a few days off and weren't going to arrive back in Minnesota until New Years. All the guys were going home tonight, with the exception of Mark because he couldn't get a flight until the next day.

A lot of changes were going to happen by the time New Years hit. Mallory had just graduated and was no longer the RA for the hall. A new RA would be moving in when they got back. She told the guys that she was moving back home, about half an hour away, and applying to jobs. She already applied to a few places, but the economy was in shambles so she wasn't expecting much.

"Where is Mallory anyways?" OC asked, looking around and noticing the blonde wasn't there.

"She's moving some of her stuff out," Mac to his teammate, "I think her brother came to pick up some of her boxes. She probably still has more stuff to pack though."

"Oh," OC nodded as he sipped his beer.

"It's going to be weird not having Mallory as our RA," Bah thought aloud.

"Yeah, the hall's going to be different now," Pav agreed.

"You guys better watch out, I hear the new RA is supposed to be a really hot guy. All the girls on the floor are going to be falling for him," Elizabeth chuckled and teased the guys as she leaned back and rested her back against Jim's legs.

"How do you know?" Jim kidded as he looked down at his girlfriend and raised his eyebrow.

"That's what Mallory said. She met him. Apparently he's blonde and very handsome," Elizabeth explained.

"Fuck blondes," Silk sighed, before looking up at some of his teammates, "Sorry Verchota, Baker."

"Whatever," Elizabeth sighed, "I really hope Mallory comes back for some visits. She told us today during the dance party that she would."

The guys kept talking as Elizabeth took a deep breath and a sip of her beer, thinking about the blonde RA. The two definitely got off on the wrong foot, but so much has changed since then. Elizabeth wasn't an adult by any means, but she was a lot more mature now than she was a few months ago. Elizabeth thanked Jim for that, but part of her would always thank Mallory too. The blonde taught her what it was like to be tough and to stand up for herself. Elizabeth didn't really to have someone to look up to while living in Minnesota. Her strained relationship with her coach was complicated, but the brunette thought of Mallory when she thought of a role model. At that moment she realized how much she would actually miss not seeing her everyday.

The ice skater felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up at her boyfriend, who had noticed she was frowning and no longer interested in the conversation. Jim was going to change that. He looked down and smiled at her. Jim then took her hand and she stood up. He pulled her down onto his lap and she laughed. She felt like a little kid and she was literally sitting on Santa's lap. She smiled and kissed his cheek. The couple was wrapped up in each other's arms, giving each other light kisses without anyone else from the team noticing.

The pair got back into the conversation when the team decided it was time to open presents. They had a secret Santa gift thing set up. The guys all got up one by one to deliver their gifts to each other. When all the guys were done, Herb opened his present and gave his little thank you speech. It sounded kind of strained to Elizabeth. Herb then left and the guys all announced that they were getting ready to play football. Suddenly a familiar blonde came bursting in. It was Mallory

"Hi! Sorry I'm late," the RA looked frazzled, "I saw some guy in plaid leaving. Is it over? Did I miss everything?"

She stood at the center of the room, trying to catch her breath. She just had a whirlwind of events happen to her. The blonde was overwhelmed but she didn't want to miss this party. She was no longer their RA, technically, but it was still a nice gesture. Mac told her that he knew what today was. It was the anniversary of her mom's death and he didn't want his friend to be alone.

"Nah, Mal," Buzz laughed, "Did you get lost or something?"

"No," Mallory chuckled and shook her head, "My brother was late picking stuff up. I still have more stuff to pack. I have to return to the dorms after the party. And I was on the phone and stuff…"

Mallory eyed some standing room near Mac and walked towards her friend. They both had talked since they got high together. They both just understood each other. Mac nodded as she approached and Mallory gave him a small smile.

"Hey nice sweater, Mal," Verchota laughed as she walked by him.

"Nice face, Verchota," the blonde rolled her eyes, sounding un-amused but still gave him a small smile, she knew he was teasing.

Even if he wasn't kidding, Mallory didn't care what the guys said about her sweater. It was pink. It wasn't anything special, but her mom knitted it for her in her last few months. It meant a lot to her, especially on this day. The guys didn't know that though. She didn't remember telling any of them that her mom made it for her.

"So, who were you on the phone with?" Mac quickly tried to change subjects.

"I got a call…from my employer," Mallory grinned, "I just got a job offer!"

The team clapped and some cheered to her by raising their glasses. It was almost impossible to find a job nowadays, she should consider herself lucky. Mallory was a business major, so she had the best chance of getting a job than a lot of other people. But they were still in a recession, it was hard out there.

"Who are you working for?" Mark asked.

"Price Waterhouse," Mallory answered.

"That's awesome; at least you get to stay close. You can live at home," Jim nodded before taking another sip of his beer.

"Actually," Mallory took a deep breath, "I'm working for the one in New York City. I'm moving to New York after New Years."

No one on the team reacted for a moment. She was moving away? Elizabeth's jaw dropped a bit. This was all happening too fast. Mallory looked a little frazzled but she was eager, ready and excited.

"Congrats, Mal," OC was the first one to speak up.

A few of the guys followed in their congratulations after OC. Mac turned to his friend and told her quietly, "I told you that you could do it." She told him about the New York job when they got high together. She didn't have faith in herself that she would get the job, but he believed in her.

Elizabeth was still trying to take it all in. She was going to miss seeing her everyday, but she still promised to visit a lot. Now with the move, they couldn't see each other at all. In Elizabeth's eyes, Mallory really leveled her off. She was more balanced and a little less immature than before. She needed the RA in her life. For the first time in Elizabeth's life she had no idea about what she was doing or where she was going, because her Olympic dreams were over. Mallory made her feel like that was okay.

"Have you told the other girls yet? Are you gonna call them and like wish them good bye?" Elizabeth asked with a slight frown. She bit the bottom of her lip, waiting for a response.

"No," Mallory shook her head and chuckled, "I just found out myself, I'm a little overwhelmed….and it's better if I don't say anything. I'm not very good at goodbyes."

Mallory saw Elizabeth frown at her reply. She wasn't angry, she looked upset and hurt. Mallory knew that she had reached out to Elizabeth over the past few months and they had become closer. Elizabeth wasn't always the best to express feelings to other people, hell neither did Mallory, but the blonde knew that the ice skater was very fond of her.

"I'm going to try to make it out to Lake Placid," the blonde nodded with hesitance in her voice. She knew that Elizabeth wasn't going to compete, but assumed that she would go to the games to support her boyfriend.

OC stood up and began walking towards the door, "That's great, Mal. Really. But let's play football!"

Before Mallory came in that's what they were planning on doing. They wanted to get a quick game in before some of the guys had to leave for their red eyes or wanted to drive home. This was the last that they'd see each other until New Years. The team stood up and when a few of them passed by Mallory again, they gave her congratulations.

As the guys played football outside, Mallory and Elizabeth helped Doc's wife clean the dishes. They didn't talk about New York or anything else. Elizabeth didn't really talk at all, much to Mallory's surprise. When the guys were finished with their game, they were getting ready to go. Mallory gave hugs to all the guys on her floor, promising them that she would try to make it out to Lake Placid for a few days. She didn't know how work was going to be but Lake Placid was in the same state as New York. She could take a bus or something.

"You're going to rock in New York, Mal," Mac whispered in her ear when they hugged.

"If you want to talk or anything, just call," Jim told her during their hug.

"I'm mad we never banged," Phil teased during his goodbye, which was reciprocated with a playful slap to the shoulder.

The last person that Mallory hugged was Elizabeth. She didn't really know what the ice skater would say or do. They had an odd relationship. They used to despise each other, but after Elizabeth almost got assaulted they saw each other's true colors. They grew to respect each other. All that Elizabeth really wanted was acceptance and Mallory gave her that.

The RA was surprised when Elizabeth gave her a big hug. She seemed a little upset with her when they were doing dishes, but for this moment all those bad feelings went away. Elizabeth squeezed tight and Mallory hugged back.

"I'm really going to miss you, Mallory," the brunette said honestly.

"I'll miss you too," Mallory told her, "You've come a long way from 'You're So Vain'"

"Because of you," Elizabeth told her.

The hug lasted a few more moments until Elizabeth let go. She then left with Jim so she could drive to the airport with him and the rest of the Boston guys. They were all taking the same redeye to Boston and she was flying out to San Francisco, spending Christmas with her family. It was the way it was supposed to be, Mallory was the one that told her that family was the most important thing.

After that, Mallory had no one else to hug. The only guy she didn't hug was Mark. He was spending the night in the dorms because he couldn't get a flight up to Madison until the next day. Mallory was a little relieved about that. She didn't want it to be a quick goodbye with him. Mark was one of her favorite guys on the team. Even her goodbyes to Mac and Jim seemed a little rushed for her.

"Now I got you all to myself," Mallory joked as they made their way out of the house and to her car.

"I don't mind…" Mark replied back shyly and in a low tone that Mallory didn't even hear.

…..

Mallory was sitting on the ground, putting her last few boxes together. Her room was mostly empty now. She was planning on finishing packing up tonight and heading home. This was the first time that she had been alone all day, it was her little time to reflect. She still couldn't believe that it was a year ago today. It was the anniversary of her mother's death. It was a sad day, but it was also a milestone. It had been a year, the proper amount of time to grieve. It was now time to move on and Mallory's move to New York was the perfect new start.

The music-loving RA still had her record player playing. That would be the last thing she packed. To her, music was everything. It was the soundtrack of life. Right now she was playing 'Bookends' by Simon and Garfunkel. It described everything going on in her life. She had just graduated college. It was the end of a chapter in her life. Now she was beginning adulthood, a thought that both excited and scared the shit out of her.

Mallory's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a small knock on her already slightly ajar door. Then she saw Mark walk in with sweats and a tee-shirt on. He must've been in bed. She frowned, assuming she woke him up with her music.

"I'm really sorry!" she said sincerely, "Did I wake you up?"

"No," Mark gave her a look that she had never seen before, "I couldn't sleep."

"I'm surprised," Mallory chuckled, "No one else is on the floor but us. I don't think the hall's ever been this quiet!"

"Yeah," Mark nodded, "I just got a lot on my mind."

Mallory smiled and nodded at her friend. Mark looked over to the record player and bit the bottom of his lip, hiding his smile.

"'Bookends'?" Mark already knew the answer to that, "You really do pick music that describes your mood."

The blonde nodded. She was happy that Mark knew the song. She could talk about music for hours and anyone who talked about it to was a good person in her book. When the short song came to an end, the blonde sprang up. She grinned at the hockey player and walked over to the record player, saying she was going to play another song that described her mood. She took out Simon and Garfunkel and picked up another forty-five that was on the ground. She put it in the record player and started it up. Mallory turned to Mark and laughed. It was 'At Last' by Etta James.

"At last, I'm done with school!" she exclaimed as she walked back to her boxes and Mark.

While she was walking she began singing, not very well, to the song. She sang confidently to any song, no matter how bad a singer she was. That was the first thing that Mark ever noticed about her. She radiated confidence.

Mark finally let out a big smile when he saw her. He was always so serious, but Mallory had something about her. She would always make him smile, no matter what.

"Do you want to dance?" Mark offered her his hand.

Mallory's face lit up. She needed a little packing break and Mark was nice to offer to dance. She figured he only did it because they were the only two on the floor and none of the other guys were there. If they saw him dance with Mallory they would surely make fun of him in the locker room.

"Sure," she took his hand, "So fancy, Mark!"

Mallory and Mark held hands. Mallory placed her other hand on his shoulder and he put his on the small of her back. They began dancing to the music, without a care in the world.

"Hey, you're pretty good at this," Mallory chuckled as she danced with Mark.

"Yeah, I remember when I was a kid and after dinner at night when my mom would do the dishes, my dad would sometimes come and just dance with her like this," Mark reminisced and gave a small smile, realizing he had never told this story to anyone, "To this song actually."

"That sounds really nice," she gave him a genuine smile back.

Mark looked down for a moment and blushed as he tried to hide a smile. He then took a deep breath and looked at her in the eye as the two kept dancing. _It's now or never, Mark_, he told himself.

"Despite what the other guys said, I like your sweater," he told her with a small smile, "And it means something to you. You're mom knitted it."

Mallory raised her eyebrows and smiled. She was taken aback that he knew that, "How did you…"

Before Mallory could finish, Mark spoke up, "You told me. It was sometime last month, like right before Thanksgiving. And some of the guys were teasing you and you told me that you didn't care what they said because you're mom made it for you and it was you're favorite sweater."

The blonde gave him a stunned and pleasantly surprised look. She didn't even remember that, "How did you remember that?"

Mark paused for a moment, before leaning in and whispering in her ear, "I remember everything."

The blonde looked away for a moment. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. She was speechless. Mark was never so candid and bold like that before, at least not that she's seen. Mallory kept dancing with him, trying to find the words to say but Mark once again spoke up.

"Mallory, don't go to New York," he said seriously, looking at her right in the eye.

Mallory looked back at his eyes and studied them. His normally soft blue eyes looked colder. He didn't sound or look mad, just somber and serious. Mallory had never seen him like this or hear the normally quiet and laid back Mark talk like this.

"What? Why?" she raised her eyebrow and gave him a confused look.

"Because I'm in love with you," he didn't even blink. He said it with a straight face and Mallory could tell he wasn't lying.

The blonde stopped dancing with the hockey player and stood in place. Her jaw dropped for a second and she began mumbling, trying to collect her thoughts together. Was he serious? She didn't know what to do or say.

"Mark?" she was a little breathless. They were always friends and she really liked talking to him. Mallory kept staring in his deep blue eyes; those were what attracted her into getting to know Mark. She loved his eyes. The first thing that Mallory noticed about anybody was their eyes and when she first saw Mark she could tell he was kind.

"Mal," he put a finger on his lips, signaling that he wanted to speak. Mallory had never seen him like this before. Mark was normally so quiet. But now he was so confident and sure about what he was saying, it was refreshing, "I'm not just saying this because you're leaving. The truth is that I've always been in love with you, from the first day I met you. I remember when you played 'Hello, It's Me' from your room and you opened the door and sang to your brother. You looked so beautiful and confident; I just had to know you. That was the moment I knew. And then you started going out with OC and I thought I missed my chance. But when it didn't work out, I wanted to give you some time but that's when Silky came. And I know you guys are over but I still wanted to give you time. I don't want to give you time anymore. I'm totally in love with you, Mal, and I don't want to lose you."

Mallory had her hands covering her mouth the whole time. She was in shock. Was this real life? Was this really happening? The blonde didn't know what to say or what to think. She couldn't pinpoint any emotion right now. Mallory had never heard him speak like this before. To Mark, when he found out Mallory was leaving something inside him snapped. He decided he wasn't going to stand back anymore. He was going to fight for her. Before she could speak up, Mark continued talking.

"Mal, I've never told anybody this. When all the guys would ask me if I liked anyone or if I was seeing anybody, I would always tell them no. I lied to them because I didn't want them to think anything negative about it. I really care about you, Mallory. You're like the most amazing, strongest person on the planet. Remember when you asked me to go to Mount Rushmore with you? You're parents ashes are there…I know that that meant something for you and it killed me to say no to you. Mallory….please say something."

The blonde couldn't take her eyes off of Mark's. They were so kind, sweet and sincere. Mallory didn't say anything though. Instead she put her hands on his face and pulled him close to her. She kissed him as hard as she could. Mark seemed surprised at first, but after a second he began kissing right back. He wrapped his strong arms around her waist and held her close.

The two made out for a couple of minutes before Mallory began walking backwards, still kissing, to lead him towards the bed. Mark stopped her for a moment and looked down at her with a big smile on his face. He couldn't believe this was happening. He kissed her forehead and brushed some lose strands of hair from her face.

"Let's go to my bed," he looked at her bare mattress, "It has sheets and stuff. I just want you to be comfortable."

Mallory nodded and began kissing him ferociously again. Mark kissed her back. The two kept kissing and slowly left Mallory's room and walked the two steps to the room that Mark shared with Mac. They were the only two people on the floor tonight; no one was there to see them. Mark opened his door and held Mallory's hips as he led her inside. He closed the door and the two made their way to Mark's bed, not stopping for a single breath.

…

Mark woke up the next morning to the sound of his alarm clock. He had a pretty late night last night, but it was worth it. For a split second, he thought it was all a dream. Mallory was the girl of his dreams and he finally admitted to her how he felt. Then they had sex, but there was something more there. Mark felt it. He had never felt that way before when he had sex with other girls. This was special. He hoped Mallory felt the same. She spent the night with him. When Mark fell asleep, he held her in his arms. The hockey player didn't know what last night meant, and if he had convinced her to stay. He hoped he had, he was going to ask her about it.

Mark took a deep breath and turned off the alarm clock. He stretched for a moment before he looked at the other side of the bed at the corner of his eye. Mallory's side of the small twin was empty. He felt her side. It was cold, which meant it was empty for a while. Mark knew it wasn't a dream. It felt real, and besides that he was naked and he never slept naked. The two had fallen asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

The hockey player stumbled out of bed and saw his boxers that were tossed on the floor last night. He quickly put them on and walked out the door, stepping on one of Mallory's socks in the process. No one else was in the hall; he didn't need to get dressed. He saw her door across from him was slightly ajar and walked swiftly towards it.

"Mallory!" he exclaimed as he opened the door.

Mark's jaw dropped. The room was completely empty. The blonde RA had a few boxes left to pack when they started dancing and suddenly stopped everything. Mark shook his head and cursed to himself. He had always been the heaviest sleeper. Mark looked around her empty room and put his hands on his head, thinking of things Mallory had said in the past.

"_I'm not very good at goodbyes."_

_"I just wanted to get away. I don't want to be here."_

"_I'm not a very good person."_

It was like she was warning him about this all along. There was no note, no goodbye, nothing. Mallory was gone and she wasn't coming back.


End file.
